“You don’t need New Years to begin the first day of the rest of your life – your time starts NOW!” – Nat Kringoudis.
By this stage of the year many of our resolutions are a distant memory. This can really be a knock to our self confidence and belief in our will power to achieve our dreams! When we try to accomplish too many things at one obligatory time of year, it is enough to make us buckle under the pressure. Research on New Year’s resolutions have found that 88% of people who make them fail by the end of February. By looking closer at the key differences between resolutions and intentions, we can see why;
Resolutions – These already start on the back foot as we delay starting them, this turns them into an overwhelming hurdle we need to keep up for an entire year! We also tend to announce resolutions before we have even started and allow others an opinion on them, which can be another source of our stress. E.g. for chocoholics a common resolution would be ‘no more chocolate!’.
Intentions – We often start some kind of work towards these immediately. We also tend to commence these at a time which is appropriate for us, which is a far more sustainable way to improve our lives. As we accomplish our small, achievable goals along the way this boosts our confidence to work towards our larger ones. We typically keep these to ourselves until we have got them under control. Because they are motivated from within, this makes them easier so we likely set more achievable goals along the way. E.g. An intention of eating nourishing foods and being mindful to limit junk food may include a goal like, ‘limit chocolate intake to one square a day for a week, then review’.
Kids often follow our example so it is important to be mindful of what your resolutions are modelling for them. Show your kids that you don’t need to put off to a New Year what you can do today and that you motivate yourself on your own terms. Rather than opting for radical fads which are difficult to maintain, instead integrate practices into your life from a balanced approach. This enables you to be kind to yourself on the journey towards the big picture intentions you ultimately have for your life.
Don’t set yourself up for failure; make the switch from the yearly cycle of overloading and disappointment to living in a balanced, healthy, sustainable way all year long!
Have a wonderful year ahead! 🙂
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