New Year, New You… and all that bollocks! Please excuse my language, but the bombardment of campaigns this time of year is just too much. For someone who makes a practice out of being assertive and saying NO, even I find it hard to resist getting caught up in the hysteria of ‘Dry January’, ‘Veganuary’ or ‘Hairuary’ (the lesser known 31 day ‘challenge’ of just letting yourself go/grow… everywhere!).
This might sound like a bit of a jealous rant. Perhaps I am someone who cannot commit to change and therefore decide to shoot everything else down? Interesting idea, but not true.
I embrace change. I live for change. The number of jobs I have done and cities in which I have lived are testament to that. But I must set out here and now that delivering change is a tricky beast – and it is that with which I have issue.
We put so much pressure on ourselves at the start of a new year. Coming off the high (for most, not all) of the holidays and then we aim to give up all alcohol in the first month of January in the UK or February in Belgium. They are the darkest and coldest months of the year. What drives me to make those months harder by giving up something that I enjoy? Or take giving up meat, in the same example. I know there are both health and environmental considerations for both – which I do not take likely – but I also do not take lightly my mental and physical health.
Imposing overnight restrictions on our existence does nothing to serve long-term sustainable change. A cursory glance of the response to the pandemic at government levels across the world is a sure fire example of that… a measured, timely, well-thought out response to our needs is a much more palatable and achievable. Reactionary, extreme responses deliver just that – a reaction, but no lasting change.
A measured, timely, well-thought out repose to our needs is much more palatable and achievable.
We should be kinder to ourselves. Yes – we might drink a bit too much December, but going on an all-out blanket ban on the booze in January is not going to relieve anything apart from your guilt at best. Fundamental improvement, the type that we can sustain day in, day out comes from incremental changes. Yes, there will always be exceptions. But let’s take my favourite example (again!) of the marathon runners. (Note to self: find other metaphors in 2022!!) They don’t wake up one morning and smash 42km in one go. The make small adjustments in how much they eat, their water in-take, the distance they run… and eventually, one day, they meet their target.
There’s never a good time to start anything. So just start.
So for me, this January isn’t about adding extra pressure to do more. Yes I have an idea of where I want to go in the next year, but it won’t happen all at once. So I won’t be subscribing to the many health-kicks and campaigns circulating my inbox. I won’t start as I mean to go on, but I will start. Because there’s never a good time to start anything. So you just start. One step at a time. And before you know it, you’re hitting 42km… because life is a marathon after all, not a sprint.
Wishing you a very happy and healthy year ahead, full of possibility. And if you want me to be a part of it, then click on the button below, and just start.
