New Year, New You?

Be Kind to Yourself Year Round

by Liza Rowan

In the past I have written about how New Years’ Resolutions simply don’t work. If New Year intentions did come to fruition, then, why are we back in the same state come this time of year, every year? Clever marketing convinces us to spend a small fortune on fad fitness and detox regimes. After an initial enthusiastic start (a few weeks, perhaps? ) we feel deprived, unsociable and often a little miserable. We feel no better, weigh no less and label ourselves as failures. What a relief it would be to NOT have to invest time, money and mental energy in the latest fitness craze or detox. We should know by now; it is likely to be shortlived. Furthermore, every one of us is dealing with our own added stresses for the past two years due to the pandemic. Setting ourselves up for failure is not something any of us need right now. The secret, especially after the crazy Covid pressures, is to work on being kind to ourselves — to work with our bodies and our minds continuously. We need to listen, respect and take care of our physical and mental being, making this a priority every single day. Make a list of all the positives that make you feel good about yourself — power-walking with a friend, eating fresh foods or taking up a new hobby. Focus on making these part of your daily routine so you form good habits, and soon they become the norm — and slipping up once in a while is ok!

In fact, it’s important that we do allow ourselves the occasional indulgence or break from our routine. We need to be realistic and allow ourselves to look forward to, and to enjoy, the little pleasures in life — be that a boozy evening with friends or chill-out day where we don’t exercise. Our mission here is to form lots of better daily habits and to avoid going overboard. We don’t need the associated guilt which adds stress and can lead us to spiral downward. Easier said than done perhaps, but why exhaust our minds and bodies with a yo-yo approach? Let’s interrupt the cycle of overindulgence and detox, and calm the lurching from hard exercise to inertia. Let’s just defuse it all a little and simply treat ourselves well all of the time.

Liza Rowan is a holistic nutritionist, supporting Green Umbrella, an education NGO in Cambodia. You can also find her proudly holding a tennis racket or coffee cup!