In this liminal time between Christmas and New Year it seems as though every person on the interweb is currently commenting on New Year resolutions. How they don’t work, or why they are vital for success, or how to make this year different.
The thing is, New Year’s Day isn’t really any different from yesterday or today. Increased levels of acid reflux yes, but, in reality, it’s just another day.
We need a means of marking time through our chronological year and lifespan, but the magical day of January 1st might not the the perfect time for sending out your deepest hopes and dreams to the cosmos.
Most of us have spent a fair few days over-indulging, whether this be sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, or cakes, sofas and sausage rolls; we let go a little.
And why the hell not? Don’t we deserve it?
Salad is cast aside in favour of munching on the sixth pork pie with gay abandon. We lose track of just how many wafer-thin after dinner mints we have eaten (before dinner). We actually lose the ability to make a meal that does not consist of cheese. We eat (I eat) to the point of nearly losing consciousness, to the point where you are groaning with discomfort exclaiming that you’ll never eat again.
“Yule log anybody?”
“Oooh, go on then.”
Fast forward to New Year’s Day.
We awaken with a tongue covered in velvet, hair dreadlocked with party streamers and Doritos, moderate to severe anxiety, and a desperate need for some sort of return to routine.
‘Right! This year is going to be different.’
Many of our resolutions come from a place of guilt, or even self loathing. Neither is a particularly fertile ground for success. Remember, the festive season is a funny little moment out of the norm. Don’t let your actions at this time define your whole previous year.
So before you start berating yourself and declaring how you are going to change, just stop for a minute.
Rather than start this year with a declaration of how you will alter the negatives in your life (perfectly valid and empowering), let’s take a moment to cast our minds back over the previous year.
Forget the things that went wrong, they have already happened, we can’t change them, but we can learn from them. Remember failure is not a bad thing.
Instead let’s think about what we have achieved, what victories we have had (big or small), who we have helped, who we have loved. Let’s celebrate how fucking awesome we all are.
And we are. We are made from the same substance as stars, each and every one of us.
Surely this is a better way to start the year, building on what is already great rather than what needs to change?
When we feel gratitude for what we have, it gives us drive to be the type of person we want to be.
Remember, health/life/love/fitness/money, is like a mountain, we need to stop climbing sometimes and turn around. When we admire the view and see how far we have come, we recharge our reserve and can continue onward with new vigour.
When we know where we have come from it is easier to decide which direction to move in.
So let the fog of New Year’s Eve clear a little before you set your intentions for the future. Look backwards and notice every win, every gain and every lesson learnt.
When we come from a place of abundance and gain, rather than one of shame and disgust, we start the year with vibrant energy, excited to see what we’ll be able to achieve this year.
Now, doesn’t that sound like a better place to start from?
I still have a party pack of primal pork pies left. When I have finished them and the remaining truckle of cheese I will give you some top tips for making some positive changes for 2022 .
Until then don’t forget about our FREE 14 Day Wild Life Reboot online course that starts on the 10th January. We’ll be covering shifting your mindset, creating positive habits, with tips, tricks and hacks to build your own unique daily health practice following our 5 Circles of Health approach to being a happier, healthier human being. See here for more details or fill out the form below to join the tribe.
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