It’s that time of the year, New Year’s Resolutions! Are you making them? Keeping them? Revisiting them? Pursuing a new hobby? Creating a new habit?
We all know that there’s no magic pill that appears on January 1st that suddenly gives us discipline and cuts a clear path through all the mental clutter. Yet it does feel like a fresh start, like new pathways can be cleared. Maybe it’s the crisp cold, maybe it’s the forced hunkering in, but it does seem like this is the time for introspection and the possibilities.
I don’t think there’s a right or wrong here, so do what feels right for you! If you do decide that January is the time-frame for change, I would encourage you not to be dogmatic, but to look more deeply into the feelings that you will get from the resolutions or goals.
I’ll use an example from my past year. Last January, I was on month 3 of being sick. My goal was to get healthy and regain some happiness because I felt like I lost my spark, but that didn’t begin to happen until I was hospitalized in February. Turns out I had pneumonia that kept getting mis-diagnosed by a prior doctor. Through this experience, I was connected with a new doctor who is amazing and supportive.
This started me on a healthier path. It was not a straight line, but it was a constant striving for health. Not only physical health, but I wanted so much to feel like myself again. I continued with counseling to help me with life balance and boundaries, which helped with stress. I actually dropped all hobbies, which also helped with stress. Once I had a little space in my life, I was able to explore healthier eating. Counseling helped immensely with the emotional aspects of this, i.e. not using food as an emotional crutch, but so did having a nutrition coach who helped with peptide therapy.
So far, this has been a very slow process. But, after a year, I am healthier and in turn, my mood has improved and I am finding happiness again. Not from a goal, but from a deep desire for better. Maybe that’s where we can start this new year, just looking for a little better in whatever area calls to you.
