Hello everybody! Happy New Year to all of you! Some of us may be feeling a little drained from the events that took place this year. As much as we would like to belief that a new year would bring new beginnings, it may not be that case entirely. There will definitely be changes and new beginnings, but, it will take time for them to happen and we would still have to embrace the changes that 2020 brought into our lives, whether it was a new job, working from home or not being able to have big gatherings with loved ones.
New year’s often mean having resolutions. Resolutions are not new to us but maybe we should give a little more consideration to that this year. We are so used to having a list of them that includes going to the gym, adopting a healthy diet and maybe achieving a certain role at work or other areas of life. But, stepping into a new year after so much of changes and even resistance for some of us, maybe this year we should tone it down and go easy on ourselves.
While it is good to have expectations on ourselves, we should also enjoy the process and learn to live in the moment. 2020 taught many of us to adapt to changes almost overnight. That is not an easy task. It forced us to stay away from things that gave us comfort such as going out with friends anytime we wanted to and being able to travel. Some of us would have picked a skill or two during circuit breaker like cooking or learning to play an instrument. But, some of us may not have learnt anything and that is alright. It is good to take some time away for ourselves to be able to relax. Not every moment needs to be turned into something that we can say we learnt or did. It is perfectly fine to just spend some time with yourself doing nothing.
This new year, if you feel that you do not want to set a resolution or if your resolution is something generic compared to your colleagues or friends, it is alright! Do not let your environment put pressure on you to adopt something or be different. Everyone experienced different levels of stress, learnt different things and are walking out of 2020 differently. You cannot compare yourself with anyone else.
There are some tips that would benefit most of us. These tips include starting off slowly. Just because it is a new year does not mean you need to have a completely new schedule and a large amount of energy to do things daily. You can choose to include a new change or activity either once a week or just monthly. Your growth is your own. Move according to your pace and do not compare it with anyone else. Another tip is to include changes/activities that suit your personality. You don’t have to keep socializing every week because people around you ask you to be a social butterfly. While socializing is important, you can keep it to once or twice a month. To ensure that you are able to keep your resolutions until the year ends, it is important that you enjoy the process and not feel like you are being forced to do things.
This new year, let’s remember to be compassionate towards ourselves, love ourselves a little more and take each day as it comes. It is about enjoying the journey and being able to learn something from it, not about ticking the checklist. Let’s have a great new year and remember to not gather in more than groups of 8! Happy New Year!
