I love fresh starts. Starting the first page of a new notepad, breaking into a new lip balm (has anyone ever actually finished a lip balm?) and the satisfaction of peeling the cellophane wrapping off a recent purchase. The new year is like a big shiny notepad that you want to keep immaculate; free of grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and unfelicitous phrasing.
However, over the past few
years I have become more aware of the impact that this has on my mental health –
I suspect that many others feel the same way too. The New Year’s Day diet culture scams that sell
you the lie that you must reinvent yourself every January 1st doesn’t
really help anybody. Starting ten new hobbies every new year for the sake of
‘glowing up’ doesn’t usually achieve anything except causing burnout and
stress.
This year, therefore, my New Year’s Resolution (NYR) is gradual implementation of mindful and meaningful habits to help me find balance and improve the relationships with those around me. I don’t want to suddenly
do lots of things to make myself ‘better’ and then fail miserably a week into
2021. I aim to start small, building simple routines but making them flexible so
that I don’t feel annoyed at myself if I miss a day, or a week.
To be honest, hardly
anybody achieves every single one of their NYRs! This isn’t because we can’t keep resolutions –
it’s because we don’t think about how ‘keepable’ they are when we make them. You cannot count your
self-worth based on how many things you did or did not achieve over 365 days,
how many x or y you ticked off on your bucket list; progress is not all
quantifiable.
Having goals for yourself
is great, it can motivate you and give you some sense of direction but just
remember to be kind to yourself. No one is perfect, so don’t expect unrealistic
things of yourself in the name of ‘new year, new me’. If you want, you can
create sustainable lifestyle changes at any point, there’s no need to wait
until the New Year and start them all at once! The world is going through a
weird time, so it is okay if you, your habits or your body has changed. 2021
may encourage a change in mindset but that doesn’t equal suddenly changing all
the expectations you hold for yourself.
If you are one of those
people that finds some sort of target helpful (ironically I am definitely one
of them), here are some that I am generally thinking about as the New Year
rolls around.
1. Becoming more
environmentally conscious
2. Buying from more small
businesses
3. Journaling more to
improve my mental health
4. Reading more to educate myself on world issues
5. Spending more time in worship and prayer
To finish off with
something I saw online recently - it may be a new year, but we have the same
God.
Because of the Lord’s great love we are
not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. ~ Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV
Socially distanced hugs, Rosie xx
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