4 Alternatives to Making New Year’s Resolutions
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The holidays are over and the new year is fast approaching. To many, this means an opportunity for a fresh start with the promise of a new year just in front of them. “New Year, New Me”. I can’t even begin to tell you how many Facebook posts and Pinterest boards I’ve seen devoted to this mantra in the last few days. In years past, I’ve been just as guilty of this as anyone, if not more so! After spending a year really focusing on personal growth, self-care, and a healthy mindset, I’ve been thinking a lot about New Year’s resolutions lately. Is it just me or do resolutions tend to focus on our shortcomings? Why do we feel the need for a new me? What’s wrong with the old me? While I completely embrace the idea of personal growth and development, it should come with the mindset of enhancing the great things that are already there! So instead of making a resolution this year, I made a list of alternatives to the classic New Year’s resolution that I thought I would share with you all! New Year’s Bucket List We’ve all at some point made a list of New Year’s resolutions and vowed this would be the year we would stick to them all. No really, this is the year I’ll finally do it! Then, after two months of working out four times a week, I’ll decide it’s okay to skip a workout. The next week, I’ll skip two because I’ll make it up next week. By June, I won’t even recognize the front desk staff if I actually manage to squeeze in a workout at all. And forget that resolution to give up Diet Coke and limit myself to one coffee a day…what was I thinking?! What is something you keep wanting to do but just keep telling yourself next month, or next year. Maybe it’s to go visit your friend in California for a week or a new workout class that has always seemed too intimidating. Write them down! Make a list of 12 things you are going to do in 2018! They don’t all have to be as big as a trip but even learning to make your own sushi at home is a fun, rewarding accomplishment. Maybe you hate that new workout class and you never go again…but at least you finally tried it and now you know! Pick an item each month and get ready for a fun, adventurous new year! New Year’s Passion Project What would you do if fear wasn’t holding you back? Maybe it’s starting your own business or getting your yoga certification. It could be buying a house or going back to college for the degree you’re passionate about. For me, it was this blog. I must have asked my sister a dozen or more times over a seven-year period about how to set up my own website. What always held me back was the thought that my family and friends would read it and not understand why I loved doing this or worse, that nobody would read it! Sadly, we often don’t follow our dreams because we are afraid of “failing” or scared of what others might think. I finally quit making excuses and started a free WordPress blog (that I’m sure very few people read) to see if I loved it as much as I thought I would. A few months later, I switched over to this site with my own domain and I no longer care if people hate it, love it, or don’t read it at all. It makes me happy and I’ve never been so proud of myself for finally taking the leap of faith and doing it! The only person who might be happier is my sister because I no longer call her out of the blue asking how much it costs to build your own site! New Year’s Goal A lot of resolutions seem to be based on taking a negative and turning it into a positive or replacing bad habits with good ones. At first glance, it can seem like a positive change but will it really change how you feel about yourself? For example, I went through a rough patch a few years ago and put on some weight due to my tendency to “eat my feelings”. Just when I started working out and eating better again, I had to have unexpected surgery. Three years, multiple surgeries, and a LOT of emotional eating later, I’m definitely not at my ideal weight and not feeling my best about my appearance. In the past, I’d probably set a resolution to lose weight, cut out dessert, work out 5 days a week, and give up pizza. Not only is it unrealistic to change all of these behaviors at once but it’s not sustainable either. Life is about balance and I’m not willing to sacrifice my pizza! The weight crept on because I wasn’t happy with certain areas of my life and I used food as a crutch. I felt as though I had lost myself and I didn’t even know what made me happy anymore. I began looking through old photos, searching for the secret to my own happiness, and realized how much I loved and missed running. I mainly did a lot of fun runs: it was more about enjoying myself than winning any competitions or setting any records. When I had my first surgery, I couldn’t work out for quite a while and I had fallen into bad habits that made getting back into the gym even harder. Instead of resolving to give up pizza for life (or even for January 2018), what if I set a goal to run a 5k? Build a training schedule, commit to the steps, and appreciate the progress and small victories. When I work out or train for something, I naturally eat better, but it doesn’t feel like such a sacrifice and I still allow myself those indulgences. Even if I only end up losing 5 pounds by the time I run that first 5k, I’ll still feel stronger, more fit, and more successful. Write down what your usual resolution would be. Do some soul-searching to uncover what has hindered your success in the past and what emotions or underlying feelings you wish to gain through that resolution. Now, set an attainable, measurable goal that aligns with those habits but makes you excited to work toward! New Year’s Word I read a few years back that Mila Kunis chooses a word to guide her new year instead of making resolutions. A few weeks ago, I came across another article in which she discussed that New Year’s tradition again. If it works for Mila, my #wcw every day, it’s worth a shot for me! In the first article, she had chosen the word yes. When presented with an opportunity, she had to say yes (within reason, of course), even if it was something she might have shied away from previously. Unless it was illegal or could cause harm to herself or another, she had to be open to the experience. It intrigued me then and, having stumbled upon it again, seemed like a perfect alternative to the traditional New Year’s Resolution for me this year. Luckily, I can’t remember her word choice for this year or I probably would’ve copied that too. I take my fangirl duties very seriously when it comes to Mila. Fighting the urge to track down the article for this year’s word, I’ve chosen the word present for myself. As a person who has been paid to capture moments on social media, it’s often hard for me to take a step back and just enjoy the moments. Even on Christmas Day, instead of being in the moment while my family made Christmas morning breakfast together, I was instructing them on where to stand to get the perfect photos for my upcoming blog post. This year, I want to be more present, put my phone down in the moments that matter most, and learn to really appreciate them. The memories of those experiences will be a lot more meaningful than a picture-perfect Instagram post. Have you tried alternatives to New Year’s resolutions in the past? Are there any alternatives above you think you might use?
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