New year, new you?
January is a tricky time of the year for a lot of people. Personally, I find myself warming to this bitterly cold and dark time of year, when we all feel the natural pull towards doing very little, staying warm and hibernating to an extent.
Taking stock
It’s a natural time to ‘take stock’ of where you are at. Our ancestors would have been taking stock; collecting and preserving food and firewood for the long winter ahead, but their waking days would’ve been far shorter as their daily routines aligned with natures patterns. Waking with the sunrise and retiring at sundown.
Taking stock for me at the end of 2023 was an opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months, to consider my successes and failures, my growth and those ‘aha’ moments. To be thankful for the experiences, ideas and encounters I have received in 2023. The insights that I have gained along the way about myself, human relationships and the way we are so interconnected and reliant upon each other for our own health and wellbeing.
The insights that I have gained along the way about myself, human relationships and the way we are so interconnected and reliant upon each other for our own health and wellbeing.
I dislike ‘resolutions’ as a concept
It’s often just focusing on quitting an outcome e.g. smoking or eating chocolate and relies wholly on willpower. It doesn’t go anywhere near understanding the root cause of the habit you are trying to stop. Why do you reach for the pack of cigarettes – what is the driver? What does smoking DO for you? You need to know WHY you do something in order to tackle it effectively. I now much prefer setting INTENTIONS for the year. These to me seem more uplifting and positive. We focus too much on what we DON’T want in our minds that it tends to attract even more of it – as the old saying in psychology goes ‘what you resist, persists’.
So, if you find you are struggling to sustain this years’ resolutions then perhaps you can give yourself permission to have a rethink? Come up with something POSITIVE you would like to achieve or something you desire to happen for 2024.
Think big. Why not?
It helps to write your intention(s) for the year down in a journal or as a reminder in your home or to share them out loud with a loved one, as being witnessed in stating your intentions will boost your commitment to doing it.
You never know, you may find over the course of 2024 that those unwanted habits and self-sabotaging behaviours you had wanted to tackle with a resolution start to be addressed in other more natural and organic ways.
After all, when you intend to spend more time in nature, you find yourself being naturally more active, which in turn helps improve your fitness levels, perhaps you even lose a little belly fat. And because your clothes are now fitting better, you feel more confident in your appearance, so you start being more cautious over your food choices.
Very small shifts in self-care tend to quickly snowball into whole health benefits for mind, body and soul. You just need to get that snowball rolling…