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???
So here we are! And what a lot we have to be proud of as a human race. Things are, despite what the media would have us believe, improving all the time! Check this site for some very interesting bits to wow your buddies with over coffee. And I came across this by Chris Hadfield and thought ooooh yes, we are pretty impressive. (It’s worth watching).
The only thing I really don’t like about New Year’s Eve is the business of resolution making.
But I do understand why we do it – it’s important and nice to have goals and to believe (correctly) we can control much of what we do and how we feel! SO, if you absolutely insist on a New Year’s resolution bear these things in mind:
1: If it’s based in self love and acceptance it’s more likely to work.
Oh no wait! That’s the ONLY thing to bear in mind!
A resolution is a super idea if it’s for your physical good, if it’s kind to you, and if you are willing to allow mistakes and flexibility. Because you are human.
So for example:
The two most common resolution I hear people talk about in therapy and socially are about smoking and dieting.
So are you ‘giving up’ smoking?
- Is it for your physical good? Yes!
- Is it kind? Yes!
- Are you willing to allow mistakes? Ideally there’ll be none but that’s unrealistic! (In my experience of me…) But if you do make a mistake, it does not mean you’ve failed and you’re back to square one until next NYE. It means you start again. With new resolve, because it’s still a resounding “yes” to numbers 1&2.
How about losing weight:
- Is it for your physical good? Yes! (If you’re actually overweight and clinically need to lose weight).
You already have a bikini body!! - Is it kind? Yes! But only if it’s a health issue, not if it’s purely an abstinence diet that you found in a magazine on a bad hair day to drop-a-dress-size-get-a-bikini-body-by-June-cruelty regime that might affect your mood and lead you to feel guilty every time you eat.
- Are you willing to make mistakes? You will probably make mistakes. This is OK. Train yourself to not catastrophise an extra bar of chocolate. Be kinder to you with your thoughts.
Especially if you really, really love chocolate. (I’m back to talking about me again… )
Let’s make it more attractive:
Stopping smoking, losing weight, drinking less, being less messy – These all sound so negative!
Here are the same things reframed: Be healthier, be more organized etc.
Resolutions don’t have to be about giving things up or doing less of something we enjoy. They can be positive!
Which brings us back to this: [bctt tweet=”If your Resolution is based in self-love and acceptance you’re far more likely to succeed. #newyearsresolutions #newyear2018 #NYResolutions #selfcare #mentalhealth ” username=”psychosal” prompt=”Tweet to another resolute resolution maker”]
SO! Here’s my ONE resolution and I warmly encourage you to consider joining me:
When we are nicer to ourselves, when we stop being critical of ourselves, doing things that hurt us, surrounding ourselves with people who hurt us, doing things that are bad for us, then we are happier. AND we are nicer to the people around us.
#winwin #allgood That’s it! #Simples!
Happy New Year Lovely Fellow Humans!!
Pic credits – me and a pixabay