Wednesday 2 January 2019

Why New Year's Resolutions are So Last Year


Flat lay photo of a sheet of white paper on a white bag ground with a mug of coffee next to it. I've been having a long think about New Year's Resolutions. So long, in fact, that this post is a day late, but more on that later. My issue with resolutions is this; if you resolve to do something that you have previously failed at, are you setting yourself up to fail? It seems that so much emphasis is placed on resolutions; ie, what you intend to get right in the new year, that that you are almost obliged to come with something you are currently dissatisfied with. But do such public declarations of intended success ever end well? Particularly if you don't first address the reason you haven't previously achieved it?



Sometimes, simply resolving to do something isn't enough. Even publicly. It can work for some people, the pressure of knowing that everyone will be there to watch you fail can be a great motivator, but it doesn't necessarily guarantee success and can lead to a lot of mid-January/ early February disappointment and self-doubt. For all those reasons, I don't think I'm really a fan of New Year's resolutions, so I have come up with another idea. I am going to focus on what I got right, or better at, last year and try and improve on that. Here are last year's partial successes and how I'm going to improve on them. I think this a much more positive idea and one that can give me encouragement now, as well as being a good reference point later on in the year. 

Travel


I faced my travel fears by jumping in with both feet and boarding no less than six planes to get to Ruka, Lapland and back and I loved every minute of it. I still can't believe how lucky we were to be able to go and what an amazing place it is. I had always felt I wouldn't be brave enough to travel abroad alone, with a child in tow, but now that L is older it's actually not so bad, as well as being so worth being brave and going for it! We are really hoping to do more travelling this year. I would love to make a feature of great places to go with a nearly-teenage boy!

A boy in an orange ski jacket poses on skis with a back drop of rolling snow-covered ski slopes.


Regular Blogging


Towards the end of the year, I started posting content on regular days, three times a week. I think I would really like to increase that to maybe four days, but I really like the format, especially knowing what is going out and when. One of the hardest aspects I find with blogging is knowing when I've done enough. I always feel like there's more I could be doing and find it hard to switch off. Although I haven't had the best start (this is my first post of the year and it's already late!) hopefully this year I will be able to use my new blogging regime as a way to see when it's time to down tools!

Making Money from Blogging


I was pleased with most of the collaborations and how they went last year, but I would love to do more. There will always be some companies who don't play a fair game, but generally, I enjoy earning money from my blog and working with different companies. I wrote about Blogging, Advertising and Sponsorship, to give you, the reader, an idea of how and why I choose to earn money from my blog. This year, I would really like to expand on this, and maybe find new income streams that involve writing too.

Being More Organised


This is always a work in progress, but last year I definitely got better at organising my day and I think I've nearly nailed fitting in everything I need to. Some aspects of organisation will always be tricky, as I have problems with my memory, so I'm always looking for ways to not forget dates and appointments. This year I want to have a really good daily routine, something that's invaluable when you work from home, since it's far too easy to get distracted by housework or Facebook! I've got a new planner and a print out of daily tasks for my blog. My biggest challenge is getting quicker at writing, I'm hoping to learn to write more from the heart, and not think about it so much. 

A hand holds a small white traditional style alarm clock.


Keeping Up with Housework


Talking of housework, this is something else I've been working on getting better at in the last year. It's not always easy to fit in with everything else, but I've been taking my own advice from this post I wrote in 2017 Cleaning Tips and Tricks to Keep Up with the Housework and it's really working. Getting L to help out more makes a difference too, I really think it's worth the investment to Encourage Children to be Tidier, even if it does seem more like hard work at first! We've had big clear outs in the last few months, which makes it a lot easier to keep tidy and organised, but I would like to tackle the remaining few troublesome cupboards, then hopefully I'll feel even more on top of the chores. 

Health


It's hard to believe that it was back in 2015 that I first wrote about living with my back condition, which I'd had for 7 years at that point, and vowed to finally get it sorted. It didn't go too well at first and it took a formal complaint and a change of surgery before I finally got some answers. Fast forward to 2018 and specialists have told me that there's nothing more they can do and Pain Management is the best they can offer. This hasn't stopped me spending the second half of last year tweaking my diet and working on an exercise regime with a physiotherapist. Although I still struggle with pain most of the time, I have seen some improvement, particularly in my general health, something I am very keen to continue in the new year. 

Fitness


The physiotherapist I worked with introduced me to weight lifting (the sit-down machine kind, not the bench kind, I'm a long way off that!) and it's been great. I've lost weight and really learned to enjoy exercise. L comes with me too, so it's good for both of us. This year I really want to increase the amount of times I go to the gym, as well as remembering to do more physio at home in between. I genuinely believe that, as much I can't be cured, there's a lot that can be done to improve my condition by giving my body the best chance to fight back with the right nutrition and exercise. 

What have you achieved in 2018 that you would like to continue or do more of? Resolutions are so last year, let's celebrate our successes instead! 


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10 comments

  1. What a good idea! It sounds like you achieved loads in 2018, we’ll done, very inspiring! Wishing you all the best for 2019 and look forward to reading your blogs to find out what you get up to. 😊

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  2. This is a much better way to look at it. I don't make resolutions and never have!

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  3. Sounds like you have had an amazing year, we loved Lapland last year and I would love to go back

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  4. That's great you faced your travel fears. I did the same this last year too!

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  5. This so resonates with me, why didn't I think of it like this before?! If I look at a job I've done, I feel a sense of satisfaction and I keep looking at my amazing achievement and I feel so good that I am able to do more whereas if I look at a job that has been sitting there for ages, I get despondent and put it off for even longer. I do find that being organised though, while mundane, means you get less stressed later as you don't still have lots to do, but like a petulant child, I do tend to do jobs I'm not supposed to be doing hence why I'm currently re-organising my kitchen cupboards instead of sorting out my sideboard in preparation for tomorrow

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  6. Happy New Year! I hope you smash all your new year resolutions.

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  7. I am not big on setting resolutions only goals and work towards achieving them throughout the year than resolutions which we give up quickly.

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  8. Encourage children to be tidier ... oh I wish! My two are soooo messy it infuriates me! Happy New Year x

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  9. I don't really believe in resolution making either as it puts so much pressure on you at a time when it is cold and miserable and difficult to motivate yourself. I think looking back at what you have achieved over the last year is a far better idea. It sounds as though you have had a really positive year

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  10. I've come the conclusion that I'm always going to be fat and broke, so there's really no point in making a resolution. I like your idea of looking back at what you've achieved throughout the previous year instead :)

    Louise x

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