It’s THAT time of the year — again [sigh]
My inbox and social media feeds are filled with mail/posts selling me on the advantages of:
- planners
- courses about planning
- products on how to use AI to make my year “better” “great” “etc.”
- health-related info on starting the year off the “right” way
- making resolutions [personal and business]
- and more…
Except for the AI which is sort of new this year — the posting and the emails are the same every December and January.
But last year some of it started back earlier in the Fall because everyone knows:
“I have to get your attention about January 2024 in the middle of the summer or early fall or else you won't buy my product.”
It’s fine if you do the above - and even better if making resolutions works for you…
I no longer make them.
I used to.
I’d read a lot of that “how to succeed” stuff, that “guru” stuff, that “my friends say this works” stuff, and would make a list of what I would accomplish in the upcoming year….
Then at some point during the year, I’d look at my resolution list and laugh [or cry] as so little of it ever got done! Or done with any degree of consistency.
So I stopped making New Year resolutions. It seemed to not be good for my mental health OR my productivity. My brain doesn't like lists!!
I've discovered that I am not alone. Many, if not most, people did not follow theirs either.
Especially these:
"I am going to exercise every day” resolution or “I am going to lose X pounds this year” or “I am going to lose 5 pounds a month.”
And work-related resolutions?
The “I will write a post a day,” or “I will write a book before Summer,” or I will do X by Y time frame.
Ditto the very popular “I will be making $XXX a month by the end of March or April” type of resolution.
These resolutions generally do not work.
Why? We tend to set impossible resolutions or standards for ourselves. They are often more wishful thinking than actual planned-out behaviors. Not sticking to these resolutions may make us feel like failures so early in the new year, and yes, the ad people play into this guilt.
Watch ads early in the year and note those aimed at making us feel guilt and shame over NOT keeping resolutions. They may not be direct, but they are aimed at guilt making!!
my insteads
With two major professional degrees and several accolades, I know I am not a failure.
I actually CAN and DO accomplish things - but I have ceased the resolution-type thinking and adopted a more casual approach to my life. It took some hard work on my part to re-think the business/life model that keeps telling us we “need” to make a yearly, monthly, daily plan… or else!
I choose "or else"
Opting for the “or else” works for me!
Every choice can be the “correct way!"
I let my mind wander!
I now enjoy late December/early January as we get an added minutes of daylight every afternoon.
I use this light/dark scenario to reflect, have fun, and think about my work - but not make any of this into resolutions,
to-do lists, or anything tightly scheduled!
I do a non-journal kind of journaling
I call it my mental meandering but it’s more like a brain dump. This is one activity I do most every day but without the “I must do it” kind of thinking, so I often don't do this. And that’s okay!
Apple has made this easier for me as they released a journal app and I have started using that app - but still not every day - I figure a few days a week [maybe] works for me.
He is right; eating a balanced diet and exercise is the most healthy option for you body. In other groundbreaking news scientists have discovered the sky is blue.
I am very much in favour with this. Back in the mid 90’s I read a book by Dr. Paul Campos, “The Obesity Myth”. He doesn’t have anything good to say about the diet and low fat food industry, suggesting that the only people benefiting from low fat foods are the very industry who market them. He also discusses the many, many studies done on weight loss and health, and tells us about the industry who pay for/sponsor the studies. Yes, you guessed it, the low fat food/diet industry.
So, I am obese, I eat healthy, non processed food and know I need to be more active than I am (and am being more active than I was) and looking forward to a slightly more healthy 2012.
Thanks, good blog.
Had not seen that book but will read it – thanks! I write more about food and aging and all that on my other blogs. Paying attention to what we put in our bodies has long been a point i try to make – loudly 🙂
Love it Lynn. This is a change I made only a couple of weeks ago. I stopped buying light milk and light cheeses. My logic was that the body knows how to process natural fats, but can’t cope with all of the artificial and chemical created replacements. I’m not a doctor, but it’s interesting to see you say something similar 😀
Thanks for the comment. I do drink 2% milk but eat whole everything else! YOu are correct about bodies – and I write lots more about food over at growolderbetter.com… and I harp on the idea there and elsewhere that we are food processors, not chemical processors…
Thanks for the comment – it’s not even [real] sugar as much as it is the high fructose corn “stuff” and the other various sweeteners we put in foods. Real food doesn’t need all the extras we add 🙂
Lynn
Of course you’re right. Sugar is the problem, not fat. The message will eventually sink in.
madonna