Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!
F I N A L L Y … Can’t be much worse than the last!!
I’m left with a feeling of awe actually – at how we’ve managed to pull together and survive this, most of us. I’m sorry for those who have suffered loss – whatever form that loss took, and will continue to take.
So much loss…
It’s New Year’s Eve again! When I was fifteen and an avid science fiction fan (still am) I couldn’t wait for 2018 to see what kind of technology we’d have. That is if I made it to 2018 of course. I figured I’d be lucky to live past 25… #SoOld
To keep me company as I write this blog and make my memes I just logged into my Spotify on my phone and streamed it to a 30 year old amp (it’s class) with an apple gizmo that I bought second hand on Ebay for e few euro.
Would 15 year old me even be able to read that sentence???
It’s been quite an emotional year hasn’t it? No doubt this year brought with it its challenges on a personal level, and as for the macro level – it seems like many of our most talented people have died and left us reeling. My most shocking was Prince, you? And I’m all for the idea of cryogenically protecting David Attenborough until 2017 by the way..
Far too many of us devise a long list of resolutions every New Year’s Eve. Many of them are good ideas, really good ones. Like quitting cigerettes, drinking less, eating more healthily, saving money, giving more time to study/ family/ friends, cutting down on road rage … Then you have a bad day, a stressful one. You allow yourself to indulge in just one smoke (sure what harm can ONE do??!), or a giant lump of salty saturated fat, a little tantrum…. then enter your three familiar companions: judgement, guilt and the feeling of failure…Well, you get the idea, you’ve been there no doubt!
So this year, I respectfully suggest we all keep it simple. So I’ll keep this short:
Picking realistic goals makes success more likely, and we feel good when we succeed. (Not rocket science, I know, and that’s what I like about it!).
Allow for mistakes, because changing a behaviour takes time, effort, and slip-ups. This is normal and OK. Guilt is unhelpful and unnecessary.
Accessing support is helpful too – changing a behaviour or starting a new one is a lot easier when we have company. Again, it’s not rocket science. So start thinking about who you know that may have similiar goals (or established expertise) or someone who is simply supportive of your desire to change. If you don’t know anyone in real life who shares your goals, you might find an online community, group or individual.
And bottom line, if you resolve to be kinder to yourself, then all else will fall into place more easily.
Happy New Year to you all!
Feel free to sign up over there on the right for new posts as I write them!
