A Personal New Year’s Resolution

Written by: Kate Smith, M.A.

This is the time of year you will see “FREE first month…” for gym memberships, diet plans, and any other subscription-based service. Every company wants you to start off the new year with them for a “New Year, New You”…only to find yourself regretting or completely forgetting about it by Valentine’s Day.

And then what? You are left with the next 12 months paying for something you had the best intentions of using and the guilt that will inevitably accompany this ‘failure’? So instead of vowing to give up sweets or carbs or go to the gym every day, why not put a positive spin on a resolution?

Resolve to continue to invest in yourself in whatever way you see fit. If this week it’s making one good food choice over a sweet or salty indulgence, maybe next week it will be yoga or joining a book club.

Take a look back at the last two years and find some things you feel proud of accomplishing. If you were able to stay connected to friends and family the past 2 years, resolve to keep that up.

If you started a virtual walking group or a Sunday evening phone call to a loved one, don’t stop!

Instead of analyzing the past year and finding all the things you need to change, look back with pride at what you were able to accomplish, give yourself a pat on the back and keep at it!

If 2020 and 2021 taught us anything, it’s expect the unexpected and to celebrate the little things. Get back to the fundamentals of what and who is important and invest your time wisely.