The New Year is here and that brings out all of the people who make resolutions for losing weight, being more organized or whatever they may be. It is no secret that the majority of resolutions fail and there are a few reasons why.
I went to a yoga class the beginning of January and the teacher made a very excellent point about New Year resolutions. People make resolutions that focus on something that is wrong with them. It is easier to put yourself down than to be nice to yourself and this is part of the reason why these new promises to yourself often fail. You are already feeling like you are a failure in a certain way and now you are putting pressure on yourself to change.
Don’t make a New Year resolution to change yourself, instead drop the resolution and focus daily on the things you love about yourself. Examine your good qualities and the things that make you unique and special and practice acknowledging those qualities daily.
Once you start appreciating yourself and all the things you love about yourself you may find you are more open to trying new things. For example, trying an exercise class you have always wanted to do or finally organizing a part of your life that has seemed like such a mess. You may be more eager to try these things because you didn’t create the mindset of this is what I have to do to be better.
If you go into the New Year with a feeling of I hate these things about myself and they need to change when you slip up (because everyone does) you will get angry which most of the time leads to giving up. Go into the rest of this year loving yourself and your good qualities and building on those, and the rest will follow. If you don’t appreciate yourself now you will not appreciate yourself after the big change you are seeking.
Drop the resolution you have made, stop being mean to yourself and embrace your strengths and weaknesses to make 2017 the year you build yourself up, not tear yourself down.
8 ways to embrace what you love about yourself:
Stop comparing yourself to others by embracing who you are and your goals.
Take care of yourself.
Surround yourself with people who lift you up and make you want to do better.
Acknowledge your strengths and utilize them.
Do something that you have always wanted to do.
Appreciate what you have in life. You have simple things others wish they had.
Accept your mistakes, EVERYONE has them.
Love yourself and be nice to yourself in every phase of life.