02 Jan No Broken Promises
I intentionally don’t make new year’s resolutions. Once upon a time, I used to make resolutions but I quickly found that doing so no longer served me. To me, making new year’s resolutions is a surefire way of setting myself up for failure as has happened so many times in the past. I don’t think pausing once a year at the beginning of a new year to take into account things I did last year is helpful to me at all. First of all, I may not remember everything from the past year. Second of all, looking down the road of the new year only makes me loathe the new year.
Rather than set myself up for failure every year, I choose to work on myself every single day. Every day, I take into account all aspects of myself: my mental integrity, my physical well-being, my emotional health etc. I see this way as taking small steps that eventually and inevitably lead to a whole, that whole being the end of the year, which becomes part of a decade ,which becomes part of a half a lifetime ,which then becomes part of a whole lifetime. It is easier for me to do things incrementally.
My method may not work for everyone. Some people do need to make new year’s resolutions. I’ve just seen far too many people fall short when they do. How many times has someone said that they were going to lose weight for the new year? How many times have I seen that same person (including myself in the past) not hold true to their resolution and, thus become depressed? There would be far less pressure and frustration if the person just decided to take it day by day: exercise, try to be healthy and then try again the next day and so on. I make a point to do real exercise three times a week and I monitor it electronically. I get a notification when I’ve achieved my weekly goal but I do not pay attention to the goal. I concentrate on being healthy daily and it has proven very beneficial to me.
Whatever method works for you, I wish you nothing but positive results for your new year. Just remember, pressuring yourself only leads to stress and discouragement, so be kind to yourself. Every day show yourself some love by being good to yourself and by making sure all aspects of your body are healthy and happy and you’ll see it spread into your life as well.
Happy New Year!