It’s A New Year, New You, Blah, Blah, Blah!

It is January 18th, and I am so sick of the “It’s a New Year, New You, blah, blah, blah! My social media accounts have been inundated with sales promos, including saving money tips, diets, fitness “must-dos,” goal setting and healthy recipes. Can you relate?

Are you aware that almost 80% of people who set New Year’s resolutions abandon them? In fact, yesterday was National Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution Day. If you do not believe me, check out this link: https://nationaltoday.com/ditch-new-years-resolution-day/#:~:text=Grab%20some%20ice%20cream%2C%20skip,Resolutions%20Day%20on%20January%2017!. You cannot make this stuff up!

Did You Make New Year’s Resolutions?

How are your New Year’s Resolutions going? I didn’t make any this year (or last). I switched over to having intentions. Resolutions seem to be pass/fail. I do not want pressure like that. Instead, I plan on intending to be better at this or that. If I slack off a bit, I feel like I can still pick it back up and not be a failure. Does that make any sense?

So, for 2024, my big intention is to execute. I often have the best intentions but my execution is lacking. Can you relate? I am not sure if it is fear holding me back or what. It’s time I just plow through whatever it is that I want to do and stop trying to analyze what’s holding me back. While I know it will be difficult, I plan on “jumping into the deep end of the pool” more often. What’s the worst that can happen?

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

Neale Donald Walsch

Trying New Things this New Year

If I watch television, it’s predominantly either sports or HGTV. Watching HGTV shows is amazing! They turn dumpy houses into cozy living spaces. We have been in our house for five years now. Guess how many projects we’ve done so far? Probably three, and we brought in professionals for all of them.

I have been threatening to paint our staircase for a long time. It cannot be that hard and it will have a big impact on our first floor. Why haven’t I done it yet? Because I stink at executing. Hopefully, by putting this out there in the social media universe, I will get around to doing it! A little pressure is always good!

Are You Good at Prioritizing?

The key to executing your intentions is making them a priority. Boy, do I stink at that. I am too easily distracted. Even if I have a “to-do” list. Case in point: I needed to run multiple errands on Monday, and my list was fairly long. So, I got up, got dressed, and thought I was on my way. When I went downstairs, I was faced with a sink full of dishes.

I rarely leave the house with dishes in the sink. So you know I had to stop and do them; but first I had to empty the dishwasher. Then I needed to clean the stovetop, wash down the countertops and lastly, clean the sink. Enter my husband.

He asked me if I could help him clean the garage and store the Fall decorations. I, of course, said yes. We had stashed those decorations in a corner of the garage till we put the Christmas decorations in the closet. We didn’t want them to get buried and hard to reach for next year. So far, I am two hours behind schedule.

I could go into way more detail but I’m guessing you get the point. My priorities were getting pushed to the side and I didn’t get anything done that day that I really needed to. Yes, I was productive, but not with things I needed to do.

Stop Being a Reactor This New Year

“In my work, I find that many people are ‘reactors,’” said therapist Melody Wilding, LMSW. “That is, they live their life responding to the priorities other people set for them, rather than priorities they have defined as important to themselves.” She said that many spend most of their days answering emails, calls, invitations, and demands from other people, whether it’s their boss or their family. How true, right?

Here is a link to an excellent article from Psych Central’s website that provides nine tips for identifying and living your priorities: https://psychcentral.com/blog/9-tips-for-identifying-and-living-your-priorit?? ies#1.

In conclusion, I think 2024 is going to be a great year for all of us. Especially if we can keep the focus on ourselves by prioritizing our intentions. There is no need to make or break any resolutions!

Please let me know if you have made any resolutions and how it’s going in a comment below.

Happy New Year!