What if, instead of focusing on a new year resolution, you prioritize yourself by making a plan for your new year self-care?
New year, new you? It doesn’t have to be.
Most people think the start of a new calendar year as a chance to wipe the slate clean. It prompts you to declare that you will do something that makes you a better, healthier person.
Mainstream media often portrays new year’s resolutions as health-related goals. Aside from the common ones like losing weight and eating healthier, are resolutions to remove things from your life. For example, Dry January, popularized by Alcohol Change UK, has become more popular in recent years. While none of these are wrong ways to be healthier, they don’t cover the gamut of whole health.
Whole Health includes “physical, behavioral, spiritual, and socioeconomic well-being…” as described in this book from the National Library of Medicine.
So, what if this year you don’t make a new year’s resolution and instead, commit to your new year self-care? Make a promise to yourself that you will make time and space for the little things. Do what brings you joy and put energy into the best way you can care for yourself.
Don’t waste your time making new year’s resolutions. Instead, focus on your new year self-care this year!
What you can expect from this post:
- New Year’s Resolution Meaning
- The Psychology of New Year’s Resolutions
- Prioritize Self-Care
- Set Realistic Expectations
- Embrace Small Moments
- Give Yourself Grace
New Year’s Resolution Meaning
A new year’s resolution is a promise, intent, or resolve to do something that is positive or stop doing something negative starting January 1st.
The intention is to do something that improves your life and who you are as a person: health, finances, overall well-being, among other things, or accomplish a goal.
One of the most common new year’s resolutions is to be healthier. Often resolutions center around “eating better”, exercising more, or lose an arbitrary amount of weight.
If you have ever frequented a gym or fitness studio, you have probably seen these particular resolution participants. They start showing up in January with lots of enthusiasm. Before you know it, they’ve mostly dropped out a month later.
The tradition of making a new year’s resolution is most common on the Western side of the world (the Americas, Australasia – Australia, New Zealand, and some Pacific Islands, and Europe).
The idea originated in ancient Babylon. Resolutions were made by Babylonians to win over their gods. The belief was that if they stuck to their resolutions, the gods would do them favors in the New Year. That’s much easier said than done.
The Psychology of New Year’s Resolutions
Resolutions are not a requirement nor mandatory to begin a new year. However, there is a psychological aspect that makes people believe they need to make them. Though, they are not usually stated in a way that makes them easy to accomplish.
This is because they are usually overarching or too high-level (vs. SMART goals). Resolutions are essentially goals. Goals are the object of someone’s efforts or desired results. They don’t happen overnight. This makes it more difficult for you to stay motivated enough to achieve them and they often lack enough specificity. Statistically, almost half of people who make resolutions, will give up by the end of January.
Why do people feel the need to make resolutions?
Social Pressure and Societal Expectations
At the start of the new year there is pressure and expectations to commit to be better. This is fueled by the American culture and social media. The American culture, in particular, is always focused on being the best in every aspect.
The Desire for Self-Improvement
For most, there is an intrinsic desire to be better overall. That can mean improving your health, mastering a skill or craft, or removing something negative from your life.
Although, now more now than ever, people are able to see how so many others live via social media. Because of this, there is a natural tendency to compare yourself to others. This can create competition making you want to emulate what you see on someone’s social media highlight reel.
The Psychological Allure of a Blank Slate
There is no better time for you to reach new heights than when the slate is wiped clean at the start of a new year, or so we think.
To many, starting a new year is thought of as a positive time. The idea is you can leave everything in the previous year and focus on all the new, good, and exciting possibilities in the new year.
In actuality, those issues don’t magically go away, so the ideation of being able to forget them is enticing.
The Pitfalls of Traditional Resolutions
The issue with setting lofty goals is that they are often unable to be achieved and maintained.
A fresh, new year gives light to possibility. This can lead to unrealistic goals being set and lack proper reflection.
It’s important to consider whether it’s possible for you to successfully tackle your resolution along with your other commitments and responsibilities.
Everyone is motivated and enthusiastic at the start of the year, but that level of energy usually fades fast. Once motivation is lost, effort significantly decreases making if difficult or nearly impossible to reach your goals.
Another reason can be due to the ambiguity of what you’re setting out to resolve. Many don’t consider the specifics that surround accomplishing their goal. This makes it hard to know how to reach your goal and when you’ve actually done it.
Sometimes people will publicly announce their resolutions, but that immediately gives others something to hold you accountable for. If you don’t do what you say you’re going to do, that can cause major disappointment and guilt for failing.
So what can you do to enhance your quality of life at the start of a new year?
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Prioritize Self-Care
Invest in yourself by making time for self-care. You have a choice everyday of how to fill your day. There are things you are obligated to do, but there are windows of time when you have the freedom to choose what to do. That may mean you are replacing something else for self-care, but it’s worth investing in you.
It’s critical that you start giving yourself time for:
- Understanding self-care
- Discovering the connection between self-care and overall well-being
- Exploring different types of self-care activities that work best for you
- Overcoming self-care guilt
- Making self-care a sustainable habit
Set Realistic Intentions
Intentions are what you mean to do and are a plan to achieve something. Your intentions guide your actions so you can reach a certain outcome. Resolutions are the outcome. You can think of intentions as the directions on how to get somewhere and resolutions are simply the destination.
When you set your intentions, reflect on whether they are within your capacity. Think about all the other factors you have to consider: time, mental load, emotional load, finances, and other responsibilities.
Make an intention you have the capability to achieve and you will be more successful in doing so.
Choose a positive intention. There is enough negativity, so decide to focus on something positive.
We all have limitations on what we can do, with time being a major deciding factor.
If you can give yourself 1 hour each week for self-care, then that’s what is reasonable for you right now. It will look different for everyone.
Self-care does not equate to self-indulging in something or being selfish. It means taking care of yourself so you can be healthy and able to do what you need to do – your job, care for your family, and get things done.
With all that mind, create a plan for your new year self-care. Self-care can mean many things, but whatever it is to you should be something that brings you joy, helps you be a better you, and allows you to soak up the small moments.
Embrace Small Moments
Slow down, take in the tiny victories, and be fully present in those moments.
Express gratitude for how far you have come and visualize how you’re going to reach your goals.
Practice mindfulness to fully acknowledge where you are at. This means thinking deeply about where you are, what you are feeling, and bringing attention to all your senses in that moment.
All of these things are what Slow Sundays are all about.
Are you interested in learning more about small moments and how they relate to Slow Sundays? Take a look at The Ultimate Guide to Slow Sundays.
Benefits of Savoring the Present
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Improves well-being
- Strengthens relationships
- Paves the way to a happier life
If you need some ideas on how to ways to practice self-care, check out these inspiration cards.
Give Yourself Grace
By not making a new year’s resolution, you remove the pressure to complete an entire goal. You don’t have to meet anyone’s expectations when what matters most is how you are taking care of you.
When you focus on your new year self-care, you write the roadmap to your goals and can learn so much along the way.
By committing to self-care in the new year, you give yourself permission to fail, receive criticism, and take it all as a learning opportunity. Those elements make up a growth mindset, which is important for fostering your journey to whole health.
You will have times when you have to be flexible and your ability to remain consistent will be challenged. Remaining vigilant of those roadblocks and welcoming the lesson behind them is one of the best ways you can take care of yourself.
Conclusion
The beginning of a new year is not meant to erase what you have experienced in the past. It serves as an opportunity to take the lessons you have learned and bring them forward with you.
Rather than tying yourself to a new year’s resolution, expand your opportunity for growth and better health by creating a plan for your new year self-care.
Make it a priority because investing in yourself is a top priority.
By staying mindful and embracing the small moments, you remind yourself of how far you have come and all you have to be grateful for.
It won’t always be easy and there will be hiccups. Be patient and understanding with yourself as you continue to learn how to best take care of yourself.
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