New Year, New Me
By Erin Peters
While we ring in the New Year, many folks have been thinking about how they can make improvements to their lives, try new things, or work towards a goal. The start of a new year can be a great time to focus on something specific, but it can also be a time when people push themselves too hard so they aren’t set up for success. People often use the phrase, “new year, new me” to describe how they plan to start the year off right. With this sentiment, it often also brings unrealistic expectations and unhealthy goals. You don’t need to create a “new you,” but there are ways you can make improvements to your life that are productive and healthy. Let’s take a look at some ways we can make 2021 a successful year and start it off right.
Setting Attainable Goals
When you start thinking about what you want to accomplish or work towards this year, try to make it something you can reach. You should be setting yourself up for success rather than failure. Make checkpoints for yourself so you don’t get to the end of the year and feel like you haven’t chipped away at what you’re trying to do. For example, if your resolution is to read more, tell yourself that by February 1st you will start reading your first book and by the end of February you will finish it. If you don’t meet that checkpoint, give yourself grace, but also know that you can come back from it and work toward your goal anytime. Your timeline is your own and you have the power to get things going every day.
You also need to remember to start slow. Restricting things and jumping all in at the beginning can create the fastest burnout. Give yourself time, don’t restrict, and start with some smaller steps.
Wellness is more than just physical health
Don’t Focus on Weight Loss
We all know that with the New Year comes advertising for workout equipment, gym memberships, diets, and supplements. While getting exercise and making conscious decisions with food are great ways to be healthy, focusing on weight loss is not. We are all built so differently, process food differently, and respond to different forms of exercise differently. One person can eat a few donuts and see no change, while another person’s body processes it differently and notices weight gain immediately. One person can go for runs five days a week and see little weight loss, while another person might lose weight rapidly from running daily. The biggest thing to consider is to not compare yourself to other people and their journeys. As soon as you start hyper-focusing on weight, you’re not being healthy. Wellness means exercising regularly, eating mostly healthy without restriction, getting sleep, allowing for muscle recovery time, and devoting time to focus on your mental health. A number on a scale does not measure health. If a doctor recommends that you lose some weight, take time to figure out what options you want to try that you will enjoy. Becoming healthy and fit is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. But as soon as you get into a rhythm and start enjoying what you’re doing, it will become a lot easier and more fun.
Have an Accountability Partner
It’s always easier and more fun to do something if you have a partner helping you. Find someone who has similar goals as you and help keep each other accountable. That way you can push each other, and also enjoy the process. If your New Years’ resolution is to take a class online, sign up for it with a friend! If you want to get more houseplants to take care of, take a trip to a local plant nursery with your accountability partner and share advice about how your plants are thriving. You are more likely to stick with something if you are not doing it alone.
Try bringing some houseplants into your home this year
Suggestions
The list goes on and on, but here are some healthy suggestions for your goals in 2021:
Take a step back from social media every day
Connect with people more via snail mail
Start a new hobby (cooking, crocheting, running)
Journal more
Drink more water
Meditate and do yoga
Volunteer in your community
Read more or listen to a new podcast
Grow indoor plants
Take an online class
Focus on your mental health and start going to therapy
Ease fitness into your routine
Cut back on processed foods
Listen to your body/mind and its needs
Work on having a cleaner space
Start planning a trip for when it’s safe to travel
Set healthy boundaries at work
Set healthy boundaries in your relationships
Say no to things that make you unhappy
Advocate for yourself
Be an advocate for others
Use more sustainable practices (recycling, composting, creating less garbage)
Try a new outdoor activity (snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking)
Be more conscious about how you are stopping the spread of COVID-19
Remember that there’s never a bad time to start trying to meet your goals. You don’t need a new year as a reason to start working toward the best version of yourself, and you don’t need to create a whole new you. Set healthy, attainable goals, and get started!
