DECEMBER, NEW YEAR AND RESOLUTIONS

First of December already! I love December :) … There’s always a nice winter atmosphere and everyone is more relaxed, happy and smiley. It means Christmas is almost here, and New Years after that. And my birthday after that in January :)

What I also like about December is it’s a good time to get started.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS ARE TOUGH!

A lot of people think of December as the end of the year. A time to let everything go because of holidays or travel or cold weather. Or since it is so close, to wait for that New Years Resolution to start making changes and “start fresh”.

But how many times has that ended up with starting the year the way we wanted? “Letting go” of healthy lifestyle habits takes us a few steps back and can create unhappy/ guilty feelings. Then there is a panic and feelings of “have to change” to make up AND take steps forward. And that change has to be huge for the whole next year to be amazing, and it must be made on that specific 1st January day.

How much pressure is that? And if it doesn’t go perfectly, then we think “Well that didn’t work, I’ll just stop” and feel like we failed. As the year goes on the whole resolution is completely forgotten. Until the following New Year when we make another resolution to be better.

I have done that too. I was obsessed with perfectionism, starting a year perfectly, making a huge change, all-or-nothing. Wasn’t good and never worked.

But I have come to realise that you always have chances for change. Whenever you want. It is good to have time targets as they set a goal, more tangible, keep you motivated and accountable. But there shouldn’t be a one-chance mentality and waiting around if you could make the change now.Changes or “new starts” are not about becoming completely perfect in every way, but rather taking small steps of change towards better. Small changes eventually become a lot. And it makes things manageable and not overwhelming. Not everything needs to be done at once!

MAKE DECEMBER CHANGES!

So why not try this… Make December your beginning of change month. You can still “officially” start on 1st January. But how much better do you think it would feel with a full month to make progress and practice? Use December to think about changes you want to make, to plan it out, to prepare, to create accountability, and to test the waters. Then when January comes you’ll know exactly what to do and feel super happy with yourself.

Succeeding at making changes then creates motivation and a trickle on effect to make even more healthy changes. Before you know it you’ll be making changes here there and everywhere, and every day will be living a healthier happier life.

So set yourself up to succeed :)

WHAT TO DO

This is what I like to do… Take each day of December to make a little change towards a healthy lifestyle. Like an advent calendar (I actually write down the change every morning when I wake up and open my advent calendar).

There’s two main options

• Each day make a new change. They can be in different aspects of your life, whether exercise, nutrition, hydration, sleep time, meditation, relationships, etc. All the changes will add up to many different ones, so you start making progress all around.

• Choose one change for the whole month and make progressive change each day. Start small and add on time or amount each day. Just one change but completely own it, don’t miss a day, not even Christmas (or New Years!) The small change will soon become a big change but will feel like a natural habit.

I’d suggest an element of both. Choose one main change and completely own it, each and every day progressing. After a few days when you are used to it, think about another aspect of your life or health you’d like to improve. Start with a small change in that, plan and prepare it, test it for a few days, see how it feels, etc. After another few days think of another aspect and small change, and do that. Your main change will always be the priority and one you do every day. The others are for you to test the waters and see what it takes, but not get overwhelmed by.

Then, when New Year does come around, you’ll be on a roll! You can officially start the main habit and know exactly what to do! And make more small changes to different aspects of your life because you have prepared!

Make December your month. Practice makes perfect (or rather excellent and happy)!