New Year, New You … Or Not
Maybe it’s not about “New Year, New You.” Maybe it’s about New Year, Same You … with some refinement. Suggesting that you want a “New You” is saying you dislike your current self.
It is my passion and purpose to expose and bring out the potential in people. I do not want to CHANGE people. I want people to love themselves enough to make changes to be a better version of themselves. I want to uncover the confidence inside of them that can make them mentally stronger, physically more able, and emotionally more stable to tackle those new habits they want to adopt.
I have always believed that if you want to be a healthy person, do more things that healthy people do. Truly happy and healthy people do not get on and off wagons. They have adopted a lifestyle that allows them to feel and live the best life they desire. NO ONE will find this lifestyle through quick fixes, detoxes, 30-day programs, or waist trainers. You find this by uncovering your true purpose for wanting to be healthy and implementing new habits that are sustainable for the long run.
It’s amazing that in the world today, gyms are not busting at the seams. Evidence has shown that the people who regularly exercise and eat a healthy diet have been the least impacted by the pandemic. So, those of you who have made fitness and nutrition a priority over the past couple of years, kudos to you! Celebrate that and be proud of yourself for understanding the importance of health from a broader lens in society. Health isn’t about losing 20 pounds, looking toned, or running a marathon. Health is about committing to doing the little things daily that will compound over time into HUGE payoffs.
“Rather than focusing on the outcomes that you want this next year, focus on the identity that you’d like to build. The goal is not to read 40 books this year, which might be a New Year’s resolution you set. The goal is to become a reader, to develop that identity. The goal is not to run a marathon this year, which might be the New Year’s resolution. The goal is to become a runner. The goal is not to lose 40 pounds. The goal is to become the type of person who doesn’t miss workouts. The more that you organize your habits around an identity rather than an outcome, the more that you see the value in just sticking with it, even if it’s a small thing.”
- James Clear, Author, Atomic Habits
If you feel guilty, ashamed, or embarrassed about yourself and overly motivated to be better in 2022, I encourage you to look at your habits in the past year. Look at where you could have changed small things to make yourself not feel that way now. Maybe we could structure our lives to always feel proud, content, and satisfied throughout the entire year? Wouldn’t that be an amazing feeling, the feeling of going into a New Year proud of everything you have done and the discipline you have implemented along the way?
On the flip side, if you aren’t feeling motivated about the New Year or have an overwhelming desire to be better, maybe that’s a good thing? That could mean that you are happy with where you are, content with your commitment to health, and just want to continue to flip the table and change everything. It’s okay to be happy with WHERE you are. Give yourself some credit for having the motivation throughout the ENTIRE year and not just one month of extreme desire for change. Isn’t that what it is all about … finding peace within ourselves without the “aha” moments?
Now, let’s all be honest and recognize where we fall, and try to refine our habits or thought processes starting off this New Year. You have TWO choices to make yourself feel better and to make sure you do not feel the same next year. Those choices are CHANGE YOUR HABITS or CHANGE YOUR MINDSET (or maybe a little of both).