As the countdown to Christmas officially starts today, people all over will be opening the first door on their advent calendars, a tradition that's years old! Did you know that back in the day they didn't even have chocolate in...?!
Another age old tradition we are all familiar with at this time of year is New Years Resolutions.
"a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of a new year"
I know I am a little early, most people haven’t even thought about their ‘new year, new me’s' yet. Usually I am the same, I’m more focused on what I am doing (and will be wearing) NYE rather than my resolutions. In the past I have even had the attitude of ‘well it will be my New Years resolution to drink less so I should drink more between now and New Year’ or ‘it will be my New Years resolution to not eat chocolate so I might as well make the most of it now, while I can’.
This year, while I will have all of the usual (you know the ones, lose weight, tone up, eat healthier, drink more water) I have been thinking lately about how negative I can sometimes be and how I want that to change, then I thought….why should that wait until New Year?!
For those who know me, (especially my husband from whom I often hear ‘are you moaning again?!’) they know that I can be super negative at times, and most of the time that negativity is aimed at myself; I’m overweight, hate my tummy, my hair is a horrible colour,…the list can be endless. It’s not always about appearances either, sometimes I can go over and over something I have said/not said or done/not done in my head (or out loud) and drive myself (and others) crazy with how I think I should have acted differently. It could be related to something so minor like leaving my Oyster at home and so having to pay for the train when I have a pass or taking the wrong train two stops out of my way before realising (not the end of the world by any means) but I will obsess.
I think it comes from my typical Capricorn obsession with doing everything perfectly and being efficient with my time….but by worrying about these minute things I am wasting so much more time than if I just got on with my day!
If I miss the gym or eat badly for one day, I give myself a really hard time...OK, so I may have eaten everything in sight at afternoon tea on Sunday but it was a treat for a friend’s birthday and I had been the gym four times last week. I know that I need to let up on myself but it's been an ongoing battle that I have been having with myself for as long as I can remember. Before I get dressed I sometimes look at myself in the mirror, breathing in to within an inch of my life and bending different ways thinking 'if only I actually looked like this'. It needs to stop!
‘Wellness’ seems to be one of those buzz words we keep hearing more and more of recently. It is the process of becoming aware of and making choices towards a healthier life, a state of physical and mental wellbeing. In today’s world where 1 in 4 people will deal with a mental health problem in any year, and magazines are still full of unrealistic body images it is so important that we aren’t beating ourselves up, that we keep our mental wellbeing in check, and don’t be too self-critical.
I imagine most of you will have heard of the book ‘The Secret’, which is all about Law of Attraction and how we only get out of the world what we are attracting to ourselves. I read this a few years ago and was all for its teachings but I have let the habit kind of slip away so as of today, as the countdown to Christmas begins, as well as opening my advent calendar (galaxy BTW) I will be actively making an effort to have a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude). In order to help me stick to this I will be taking the following steps;
- telling my friends and family so that they can nudge me if I slip back into my self-critical/over analyzing ways
- starting a journal where I will write down at least two things that I like about myself and that two things that I am grateful for each day, I'll keep this next to my Advent Calendar so I don't forget (as I obvs won't forget the chocolate)
- I will practice saying ‘it’s not the end of the world’ and forgiving myself for little mistakes/slip-ups
- taking time to do things that make me feel good about myself be that getting my nails done, getting my eyelashes done or just taking time to go to a yoga class
Have you thought about your New Year’s resolutions yet? Why wait another four weeks to make positive changes...?
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