For years I would make New Years resolutions with over ambition. I would over excitedly think I was going to lose that 3 stone in a year, read 40 books and stop using my laptop to mindlessly surf the Internet and be a positive, enlightened person who judges no one all in 365 days. I’ve learned that they usually end in complete failure! I usually end up feeling very deflated and sometimes, in the opposite direction of where I wanted to be. There was so much pressure I put on myself to do great things that more often than not I pulled back and ate more from stress, got put off reading because I “had” to do it.
I used to own a little notebook where I wrote down my to do lists, no matter how small the task “clean room, buy post it notes, lose 1lb, finish such a book” and ticking off things on this list made me feel accomplished, so I decided that making smaller, more attainable goals for New Years would be better and easier to achieve, therefore making me feel better at the end of the year. Things like “laugh more, lose 1lb by February (knowing I’ll be eating more and be busier so I’ll have less time on the gym), go to more festivals, unsubscribe for useless emails”. This will make me feel like I’m actively tackling my list of resolutions and I won’t feel so guilty or be angry at myself either.
So instead of making huge goals that you know are going to be difficult to achieve or just not done at all, work slowly but surely towards your goals. Don’t forget it’s not just the new year that you can set goals for yourself! Instead of saying “I’m going to lose two stone this year” try saying “I’m aiming to lose 6lbs by June” and then work from there depending on work and events etc. You won’t feel so bad then if you don’t lose two stone this year, you can keep reaching through till next year until you get there.
So to sum it up, the New Year makes people feel like they need to create a whole new self within a short amount of time, and as is human nature we need to have it done now and in the biggest way possible with maximum effect in order to make us feel like we made any kind of difference. But slow and steady wins the race!
XO
