There is something unique about the New Year that tends to inspire us. A new beginning provides a fresh calendar giving us a fresh start. We often think of the New Year as an opportunity to create a new perspective, new actions, new results, new accomplishments, and even new found inner peace. 2023 can be an opening to reinvent ourselves and in turn our lives.
New year, new you. New year, new life.
The desire for change is there within all of us. We continuously want better versions of ourselves and so we can do more, say more, create more, exercise more, earn more, help more.
We often think that these results will make us grow and contribute and in turn make us happy – but then we fail miserably at the attempt of a New Year’s resolution only to feel shame and disappointment. Most people are not resolving anything within themselves. Did you know that 85% of people have abandoned their new year’s resolutions by the second week of Feb?!?!
Daily, in my office, I hear about the desires my patients have. The common thread is wanting less pain and restriction in their bodies and instead craving freedom and fluidity. I find that many people want the results of a healthy, liberated body, but resist the rituals that give them those very results.
The New Year’s resolution is not only about calling out the results we are after, it’s also about committing to a process and setting up simple rituals that allow us to overcome the barriers that prevent us from enacting long-term change.
This January 1st , we sat around the dinner table and asked the clichéd question “what is your New Year’s resolution?”. My sister mentioned “more rest”. It was so simple. And in the recovery of coming out of a pandemic, so necessary. What I thought was brilliant about her intention for this coming year, was that her resolution was about a practice in a way of being. Her struggle, like mine, has been about reprogramming an immigrant work-until-you-die-or-you’ll-have-no-worth belief system. Her resolution of “more rest” is about permission to do less, not more, to release her expectations of perfection, and to prioritize restoration and honouring where she’s at.
Like you, my soul wants more – I want to grow, I want to improve, I want to change. At this time of year, when we think about change, we forget that change is inescapable. Life, just like time, is not standing still. We may believe that “doing nothing” promotes stagnation and pause. However, our cells, our body and our experiences are constantly changing whether we want it to or not. Everything in life is constantly changing.
Remember resolutions do not have to be about results, achievements or propelling forward – they can be about healing, prioritizing self-care, and teeny tiny healthy changes (eg. walking daily, eating breakfast, drinking more water, more home-cooked meals, etc.).
Change is inevitable. Progress is a choice. So why not actively participate in the change that you are after, so we can contribute with thoughtfulness, have patience to show empathy and listen fully, and to love fiercely and compassionately. We need more than wishes to create lasting change.
What do you really want to do this year? Make this year, the year you actively participate in the change you want to truly “resolve”.
If you need help breaking through your barriers or establishing your motivators for success, we are here for you with our entire team at Soma and Soul Wellness.