It’s that time again, a new year has begun and everyone has their resolutions in tacked. Whether everyone is still sticking to them by this point is a different matter. Usually, our new year resolutions are restrictions or limitations we put on ourselves. Many people start a diet, only allowing themselves healthy foods, some people remove alcohol from their weekly activities even though it is something they really enjoy. A lot of people decide to loose weight or tone up by joining the gym, seeing the new year as cause for changing themselves physically. While these are all individual choices they are also the norm in our society, and the media really doesn’t help. With adverts for joining the gym and every new year article headlining “top tips on how to get your body in great shape for 2022”, it is just a drive to exploit our insecurities for profit.
After being sick of seeing all of this nonsense year in and year out, our societies determination to tell us we aren’t good enough and that to be validated we must restrict ourselves from things we love, I had an idea.
What if we added to our lives instead, give ourselves something new that brings us joy on the regular. So my new year resolution this year, and my only one at that, is to learn how to love myself, I am giving back to me, and I think you should all give back to yourselves too, because you deserve it.
Self-love is incredibly important, and we don’t realise just how significant it is in our lives until we really need it but learning to look after yourself in the way your mind and body needs is something I think we could all use after the past couple of years. If you already love yourself, AMAZING. Instead why don’t you try doing more of something you love, or spend time with people who make you laugh, do less hours and sleep all day every Sunday. The point I am trying to make here is, it doesn’t really matter what you choose as long as you do it for you, just don’t choose restrictions and limitations, or removing things that brought you joy.
You deserve to feel like your best self, to laugh, to be silly and to have fun. This world is cruel, and the media plays a hand in forcing us into things that make it crueller. But we don’t have to participate, you can choose to re-write what resolutions mean to you.
Give yourself some extra love this year, learn to say no and put yourself first, it’s time we changed the narrative on what it means to start a new year. It’s a fresh start, the beginning of something new that we don’t know what yet, a chance for you to grow and learn. Showing the world kindness, always starts with showing it to yourself, so maybe we could all start there and see what happens.
But I know, self-care and love can be really hard, especially when you’re not feeling it or haven’t had much experience with it. So here are some tips to help you out if you don’t know where to start.
1. Learn to say no
When things feel overwhelming and your schedule is bubbling over, learn to say no to others. Whether that be a phone call or adding more work to your day, stress can creep up on us when we least expect it, and we have to prioritise ourselves above all else. Setting boundaries is a really hard thing, but your mind will thank you for it in the end.
2. Let go of the concept of perfection
None of us are perfect, and none of us can do perfect work, because perfection doesn’t exist. It is something we use to put pressure on ourselves and others that only makes us feel more stressed and anxious that us or our work isn’t good enough. This year, start to normalise your imperfections, all those quirky things that make you, you.
3. Write it out
Venting, ranting, scribbling. Anything that gets your thoughts out of your head. I like to call it write it out, it’s something I started doing last year and it really helps to separate and organise your thoughts, which in turn can make your work load a lot easier to handle. When you take your worries out of your head and put them on paper, studies have even shown that this allows our brains to tackle those worries with a clear and calm mind.
Happy New Year, and remember, you matter and it isn’t selfish to put yourself first more often.
Feature Image Credit: tiputales.com
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