Happy New Year!
We are nearing the end of our first week of a New Year and I thought it would be interesting to check in on New Year Resolutions. Do you have any? Are you keeping them? If so, how are you finding it? Did you set some and they’re already forgotten?
There is a lot of pressure this time of year to do things differently – there is Dry January, Veganuary and media overload on fitness, nutrition, do this, do that to transform your life, to change… which is in essence what coaching is – taking you from a place you are currently at to a place you wish to be by closing the gap with new habits and routines.
However, I always feel that 1st January is not the best time to initiate a drastic change. This is corroborated (according to Forbes) by 80% of people failing New Year Resolutions before the month of January finishes, and the number could be even higher! Does this mean we are destined to fail and therefore, we should never set resolutions or goals?
Well, I, as a coach would say an absolute NO! I think it is super important to set goals yet we need to be realistic about the difficulty of change, the length of time it takes, the cravings which can de-rail us, the shift in priorities, your reason why.
There is a lot of preparation which goes into the success of change and transformation.
Which is why having support is so beneficial when embarking on something new. It keeps you accountable and on track. Hire a wellbeing coach, join a group, get a trainer, find a club…
If you are going for change alone, consider these questions:
- What do you dislike about your current situation?
- What has stopped you from making a change?
- What do you think you will loose from your life if you changed?
- Why do you think change will benefit you?
- How are you going to implement change?
Back to why, I think January 1st isn’t the best time to embark on change. I truly believe we need to take time to understand our current behaviours, our thoughts, our habits, our emotions to become aware of how we show up in our world. From this place we get a greater depth of acceptance and in turn empower ourselves to make lasting changes.
Can a Word Help?
What I do think can be useful as an initial step for change is to have an overarching word(s) for the year.
I have been feeling into this for myself and have two seemingly contradictory words – BOLD (or tentatively FLAMBOYANT – I can’t quite find the way to embrace such a word but it does entice me) and GENTLE.
To explain; I want to take bold actions this year in my personal life. There is a part of me that would love to be this extraverted flamboyant presence on social media (eek that scares the life out of me!) and yet I want to initiate change with myself (and my clients) in a gentle way. No forcing, no pushing, no demanding. I know from years of experience how so many people punish and hate themselves to change and it rarely works! Therefore, I wish to find the strength in gentleness, and to notice that powerful change comes from us being gentle with ourselves.
So, my invitation to you is what word or words do you wish to orientate your year around and how might that affect the goals which you set?
I wish you success on your journey with your new year and your resolutions.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
.