New year! Same Me!

It’s that time of year again where we are inundated with messaging to make new years resolutions, start something new, go to the gym, go on a diet, learn a language, insert incredibly difficult goal here ….

It’s hard not to get sucked in by it, after all we have just waved goodbye to another year, and it seems only right to grab the opportunity for a fresh start with both hands. However, that doesn’t mean we need an entire personality transplant or more new hobbies than we know what to do with. The phrase ‘New Year, New Me.’ Is thrown around mostly ironically at this point, as people inevitable give up on their resolutions 3 weeks in because they were a little too ambitious.

I have very much been guilty of this in the past, I take on too much and then chastise myself for being a failure when I can’t keep up with daily exercise, healthy eating, journal-ling, meditation, a skincare routine, reading, and lord knows what else. I am a sucker for a fresh start and do get excited about starting knew things, but I am always falling into the trap that a brand-new planner and a can-do attitude will solve the worlds problems.

I have the same attitude towards new hobbies and habits that I do with new things. No matter how old I get, I get so excited about all my new things I want to use or wear them all at once. Having new clothes in my wardrobe or new notebooks makes me feel like I want to re-invent myself without fail, but just like the with new years resolutions the dopamine rush of something’s newness wears off and you are left with what is there before.

That’s why this New Year, I will still be reflecting on the year that has passed and making plans for the year ahead and even setting a few goals, but most importantly I will be trying my best to make peace with what is already there. New Year, same me.

Another thing I want to remind myself of this year, is that any day, hour, minute or second can be a fresh start. It is easy sometimes to get stuck in a rut, then acknowledge that you want to do something about it but then wait around for the perfect opportunity to start making a change. Whether that is a new month, I will wait until after X to start X. Or when I was younger waiting until the clock was at a nice round number before I start studying because no one starts anything important at 16:47, may as well wait until 17:00 to make a start.

Why not start at 16:47? Why not start a new hobby on a Thursday in March. I think the way I will be practicing this the most is when I catch myself in a bad mood, for no good reason, I can decide then and there to do something about it, be that; dance it out, shake it off, watch my favourite comfort show or make a cup of tea. I was always a try again tomorrow kind of person in those situations, maybe I won’t always have to wait until tomorrow for things to get better. We’ll have to wait and see.

All of that to say, you don’t need to change a thing just because it is 2023 and not 2022. You do not need to diet, start a business, learn a language, start weightlifting or anything at all if you don’t want to. There is nothing wrong with entering a new year as the same you. If you want to do something new go for it! And you don’t have to wait until next January for you next fresh start, you next one can be…………. NOW! (If you want it to be)

For many of us our goal for 2023 might be to just keep going, in what ever way we are capable just to take each day as it comes. That goal is perfect. Keep Going.