Ugh. New Year’s resolutions. I am over them. I am not sure if it’s the tired, defiant, or the honest part of me- but I am so bored of these.
According to 100% of articles I found a form of losing weight, eating healthier and exercising more has been the number one New Years Resolution since about 1903.
This is a 0% surprise.
Oh also, only 8% of people stick to their resolutions.
And we already know 95% of dieters fail and end up gaining weight.
So, we do this for 3 weeks, give up, spend the better part of our year in self loathing and then replay the same tape the next year. I mean maybe you pull a “Blurred lines Controversy” and change the lyrics of your tape but play basically the same music. Last year you wanted to lose 10 pounds, this year you want to “eat clean.” (let’s be honest though, you really still want to lose 10 pounds)
This is why I am bored.
We are becoming painfully unoriginal and I am asking you to consider putting in a different tape this year.
Every year. Every year we make commitments to “become better versions of ourselves” to then set ourselves up for failure in our pursuit to find those better versions. Thus, ending up no different except maybe even a couple pounds heavier with a longer list of why we aren’t good enough.
So, before you decide that the better you of 2018 starts with what you look like I encourage you to consider the following:
- What do you value?
For real. What do you value? Is your number one value in life what you look like? Do you really think the most important part of “bettering yourself” starts with narrowing your jaw line and the size of your jeans? I honestly hope not (and if it is- that’s cool, let’s talk about why). Nevertheless, if we can push that aside- look how many other options are out there. When you stop spending 95% of your day on something that isn’t what you want at the core of your being imagine how much space is opened for things you do want there. What do you value?
- Where were your values hidden in 2017?
Where did you hide the things you actually care about? If your relationship with God is something important to you- where was it not present? If your commitment to finding joy through helping others is important to you- when did you shove that away? When we are confused on what we actually value it’s THE EASIEST to put our true intentions on the backburner; so have a little grace here. Identifying where your authenticity is hidden gives you the opportunity to make a different choice. Awareness y’all, this is awareness. Where were your values hidden?
- What are the parts of you that you do like, maybe love, and definitely accept?
This is a thing. We don’t hear much about acceptance out in the world. We hear a lot about what needs to change, what isn’t working, and the 3 easy steps to fix what you hate about yourself. PLEASE let’s talk about what you do like! I know someone who started talking more about how much she loved her friends and less about how much she hated her thighs and guess what- her friends started liking hanging out with her more and also her thighs stopped controlling how her day was going. Close to magic but not because this was real. What are the parts of you that you like?
- Where were those things hidden in 2017?
Where did you get small around acceptance and self-love? It is so frustrating- we are basically brainwashed to think we aren’t good enough by just about every company ever created (slight exaggeration)- so we think we need to buy something to change us and make us happy. We spend so much time thinking about parts of us that we want to change that often, we don’t even realize we are hiding our most redeeming qualities. MORE AWARENESS. Where did the parts of who you are (which can be connected to your image or not) that you like get ignored?
- And lastly, I urge you to consider this: Could your New Year be more about loving what you already have, do, and feel and less about changing what you don’t? Will your New Year’s resolution be to change the tape that doesn’t work, to stop listening to a song you hate and brings you down, and put one in that you like, want others to hear, and encourages you to be MORE of who you already are?
New Year’s Resolutions are allowed to be bigger than changing what we see in the mirror. It doesn’t have to be about changing what we don’t like- it can simply be about spending more energy on what we do.