New Year? No Sweat!

The start of the new year usually triggers a lot of reflection across the board. Whether you intend to or not, businesses, celebrities, and even your friends are posting end-of-year recaps and New Year resolutions all over social media – and at some point, you will likely find your thoughts in the same space. 

Although the new year can be exciting for many and tends to start with a big bash to celebrate for some, it can also lead to a downward spiral of dread and hopelessness for others. Measuring yourself up to your friends/family, focusing on goals you did not accomplish, and feeling discouraged about the future, can be a hard rut to get out of.

But we won’t be abandoning you there. Here are some tips to help you manage your thoughts and set yourself up for a happier beginning to a new year: 

1. Approach the year with a focus on yourself, and not others. Remove yourself from situations that require your reflection to involve someone else to stop any chance of comparison. Remember, comparison is the thief of joy. 
2. Reflect on your feelings during moments that may have helped you achieve goals or deter you from them. Try to understand where those feelings may have come from. Identify what you can do to replicate positive ones to help you with new goals. Did you ask for help? Were you surrounded by support? Did you focus independently? Focused on what worked, and do it again. 
3. Set specific, detailed goals for yourself. Sometimes broad and vague goals make it hard to determine an action plan, resulting in little accomplishment or progress. For example, instead of a general goal to “lose weight”, your goal could be “take a 20-minute walk 4x a week” or “incorporate 30g of protein at breakfast every day.”
4. Examine your expectations and be realistic about what you can take on. A goal list can easily become a long and endless wishlist, and it’s best to try and focus on important key areas in your life instead of everything under the sun. 
5. Make it fun – throw yourself a vision board party! Get your friends involved – make your goals visual, add pictures, and positive affirmations instead of just writing out a boring to-do list. Save it as your screensaver to have something to look back on throughout the year.

A new year can be the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. We hope these tips will help you find some positivity and inspire you to go easy on yourself, with hope for what’s ahead.