Out With The Old, In With The Same — Why We Should Ease Off On ‘Transformation 2021’
New Year, Same Me.
I hope you had a lovely, restful Christmas break and enjoyed eating and drinking to excess and partaking in the expected festive family aggro.
There has been much significance applied to the new year of 2021.There is an underlying frisson that this year, purely based on its calendared date, will be distinctly better than the last.
Now, I’m all about optimism and improvement, and I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade here. However, along with hopes and dreams, comes a lot of pressure. Pressure on our current situation, pressure on external factors but also pressure on ourselves. At this time of year, people tend to make resolutions, which can make them feel inclined to be ‘better’, or sometimes, someone different entirely.
New Year can make us feel as if we need to wipe the slate clean and 180 our lives. In micro terms, it might be beneficial to make small tweaks to lifestyle and outlook which can help with personal wellbeing. On a larger scale, this can be nigh on impossible and the thought of making grandiose statements and changes can be anxiety provoking.
My advice; try to let go of your expectations. 2020 was a challenge to say the least and it’s absolutely okay to find this time of year difficult and not have the energy to transform your lifestyle. Try to make sure you don’t overstretch yourself in the search for self-optimisation. You are human and simply navigating is enough.
So, before you pledge to do a new home workout every day, give up sugar forever and remember to send thank you cards more regularly, check that your resolution won’t do more harm than good.
Often we set goals or try to make changes when we feel negative about something in ourselves, ramping up the gravitas and setting up the inevitable failure of said goal.
Three top tips:
- Avoid an absolute. If you say you will exercise 5 times a week, test the longevity of this. If you miss a few sessions due to being tired, will this feel like a failure? Maybe give yourself a baseline of what is best and worst case.
- Notice your narrative. Try ‘I would like to try and eat healthier’ rather than, ‘I must stop eating rubbish’. EBI, make it measurable, ‘I would like to eat healthier so I will try meat-free Mondays for a month’.
- Mind over matter. Usually we are emotionally invested in the changes we want to make. This can be a double-edged sword in terms of motivation. Choose something you are genuinely inspired by to help move forward with a positive mindset.
I think if anything, 2020 taught us that life is unpredictable, and we should cut ourselves some slack and seek pleasure in the little things. Go easy; you are already doing a good enough job.
Happy Monday 🙂
