The whole “new year, new me” gambit wants you to believe that at 12:00am on 1 January we all magically morph into this “ideal” version of ourselves that always remembers to put the bins out on time, exercises 7 days a week, and meets every deadline in advance. And if you don’t? Well, what a failure (*sarcasm*).
I heard someone refer to this recently as “same shame” and that really nails it. Like, another year went by and I didn’t become the new me and apparently I should feel very ashamed of this.
I still never put my laundry away when I take it off the line.
I always wait til the last minute to do anything.
I still underestimate how long it takes me to drive places.
I still don’t know how to use eyeshadow.
And there are still plenty of things I say I should do or projects I should start, but don’t.
I have absolutely grown and changed this year, both personally and professionally, without a doubt.
But that wasn’t a result of a new year’s resolution I finally stuck to.
It was a result of tiny doable things that I have added to and moved forward on, which have all compounded to get me where I am.
It’s easy to get caught up in the comparison trap and fret about all the things we might not have achieved this year. Especially when people are using the New Year sense of renewal and fresh starts to sell you things that will ABSOLUTELY DEFINITELY FOR SURE have you achieve your resolutions this time.
Especially when it comes to fitness, there’s a whole tsunami of new year, new me marketing that really makes it feel like we’re all going to wake up on 1 January and magically be the person who does ALL THE FITNESS THINGS without having all the real life responsibilities that we had the year before…
But it’s also ok if you don’t do that. If you wait until February 2nd or March 23rd (or whenever) to make any changes. It doesn’t have to be day one. Also, the things you have already been doing will all continue to add up and have an impact over time.
Focus on tiny doable things that you can add and sustain to achieve whatever goal you have.
And remember there’s no shame in not being an entirely new person on the first day of the new year 💜
