It is always safe to expect some kind of ‘New Year’ post when the time arises for it because let’s be honest, we are all thinking about 2018. We are basically knocking on its door. I wanted to do something a little different with the way I talk about the New Year, and the ‘resolutions’ we are all so conditioned to incorporate into our life. I want to offer you a NEW way of looking at your life once we step through the entryway of 2018. [Another thing I must point out, the word ‘NEW’ will be seen more than usual throughout this post, so I apologize now for that… Actually, you know what? No, I don’t. I put the word ‘NEW’ in the blog title twice. You knew what you were getting yourself into when you clicked on that link! 😏]
Let me explain a tad bit more about what I mean. Each year, as the Holidays come to a close, and the end of the year starts to get in our heads, we often reflect on the past 360+ days. We either suppress or try to understand the moments that were darker than they were light, and we smile at the memories we created this past year that we will remember in years to come. We have always been told that we should create ‘Resolutions’ for the New Year; ‘out with the old, in with the new’. We are kind of expected (or at least that is how it can feel) to put into place these huge lifestyle changes overnight, and although I am a full supporter in everyone becoming the best versions of themselves, I am also realistic when it comes to mistakes being made. This is important to remember: You do NOT need a New Year to want the best for yourself. You can make positive lifestyle changes year-round, and you can constantly become the YOU that you want to be. We put so much pressure on ourselves to maintain our ‘Resolutions’, but we must never forget that it’s okay to make mistakes and have to start over if we need to. The important thing is that we always choose to get up, heal our hurt, and start over.
This post is not to criticize the whole notion of resolutions. It is simply just pointing out that we can change our life whenever we want to, and I think that is even more awesome, and something we should celebrate. But like my title even says, the New Year is a good reason for a New You, so why not? Why not try it? Write down some goals, start to believe in them, try them on for a change, and if you stick with it long enough, you will even be able to watch it manifest in your life in the best way.
Here is where people tend to go wrong with resolutions, and I will use physical health as an example since this is a widely popular chosen lifestyle change people try to make in the New Year. A large percentage of people (mainly Americans) will sign up for gym memberships at the beginning of the year with the full belief that this will be the time that they actually decide to stick with it. Two, three months will go by, and change has been made, but there hasn’t been enough made for this person to keep going. So, they slowly but surely start to fall back into their old habits, because the resolution that they had set was not proving to work fast enough or show the results they wanted in that time frame. This is the issue with resolutions. People can get through the first couple months of the year because they are filled with the hope of change. Depending on the person, there may come a point where it is just no longer worth the effort, and instead of finishing what they started, they choose to go back to what was comfortable. You can apply the above example with pretty much any resolution you can think of. When we are discussing lifestyle changes, people tend to forget that a lifestyle change requires a LIFETIME of commitment. The same reason why diets don’t ever work…there is no temporary solution to a forever kind of problem.
The reason I wanted to write this post is because there is no better moment than right now to change yourself for the better. Yes, the New Year is a good reason to become a ‘New You’, but ultimately, positive change in your life is ALWAYS a good reason for change…YEAR-ROUND! Have your resolutions, fine, but don’t just give up on them when the goin’ gets tough. We mustn’t forget that our life does not change just because we thought about what that could mean for us; our life changes when we consistently put in the work each day moving forward to get where we belong.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that the time is going to pass regardless. We can either spend our time wisely and put it towards the passions we have, and the goals we have set, or we can distract ourselves with temptations, fear, and whatever else may be holding us back. Whether or not you decide to live your best life is always up to YOU. The New Year is always a good reason, and place to start, when it comes to a ‘New You’, but the message I want you to leave with is that you can start your life over at any point in time! Mistakes are going to be made, but a few mistakes should never be a good enough reason to hold you back from a ‘New You’!
Thank you for reading. I appreciate you.
Megan Lawrence