3 Things People That Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions Know
I became a therapist after spending a little over a decade in gyms, supporting people as a personal trainer. It was such a fun job until the holidays hit, and the gym would become a ghost town for a good couple of months. However, we all knew that the New Year was right around the corner, and we enjoyed what affectionately became known in our gym as Second Christmas.
People would drop thousands of dollars in the hopes that money spent somehow equated to pounds lost. I can’t tell you how many people would go MIA after a month or so of really committing to their self-care. I always wondered why did they wait until now to address their needs and why are the same old excuses coming up for them now that they are on a role?
Even more confounding, why do people abuse themselves so much over the holidays that they feel obligated to pay penance at the start of the year?
I’m hoping that this post will help you to stay on track over the holidays so that you can go into the new year already off to a strong start.
3 Things That People Who Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions Know
The Holiday Season Does Not Give You a Pass on Self-Care
If you have a talent for making excuses throughout the year for not staying active and making reasonable choices about what you eat and drink, then the holidays are your Super Bowl. Any reasons you have made before about not drinking, eating, or staying inactive throughout the year triples between Halloween and New Year’s Eve.
The trick here is to challenge the thoughts as they come in and actively argue in favor of what you want. You have to realize that these are just thoughts, you control them, and you can tell them what to do, including taking a hike.
Nobody is Going to Judge You for Eating and Drinking in Moderation
One of the number one worries I hear from people that are cutting back or refraining from drinking over the holidays are the judgments they will get from others. They see the looks they will get from others or the questions they will be asked concerned that they aren’t the life of the party anymore. It is essential to keep a couple of things in mind here. The people that truly care about you will always care about you regardless of what you have going on. Secondly, this journey has to be about your health, not what others think is healthy for you.
Something is Always Better than Nothing
It has become an annual tradition for me to do the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning to try and earn my turkey. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t 5K ready, I’m encouraging you to just do one small thing over the holidays to improve your lifestyle. Something like going for a walk, having one less drink than usual, or holding yourself to just one helping of Thanksgiving dinner are steps in the right direction. The idea here is to create an intention that aligns just a bit better with what you would like out of your life.
Of course, these are the top 3 things I have heard from people over the years that help them to attend to their self-care over the holidays. Just having some basic guidelines to follow this time of year will provide a nice foundation to launch your new year. I encourage you to start now; don’t wait until January 1st.
Please share any tips or tricks you use over the holidays to stay on track, you never know what might inspire someone to make big changes in their lives.
