LIFEspa

New Year. New Resolution(s).

2021 is finally over, and now we face the odd ritual of making our New Year’s Resolutions. Resolution = Res-o-lu-tion = a FIRM decision to do or not to do something.

A New Year’s Resolution is a tradition most common in the western world in which a person resolves to continue or start good practices, change an undesired trait or behavior, accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve their life at the start of a new year.

But New Year’s Resolutions didn’t start here. In fact, the world didn’t celebrate the beginning of the new year on the same day. There was no one, universally accepted calendar. Various cultures practiced the beginning of their new year based on their local beliefs and traditions.

The Babylonians rang in their new year with an 11- day festival in what is now March. Ancient Egyptians celebrated the advent of their new calendar during the Nile River’s annual flood.

In 46 B.C., the Roman emperor, Julius Caesar moved the first day of the new year to January 1 in honor of the Roman God of Beginnings, Janus. It wasn’t very popular and most cultures continued to follow their own calendars. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII decreed that January 1st would be the beginning of the new year with the Gregorian calendar which we honor today.

The Babylonians are the ones that started the tradition of a New Year’s Resolution. They would celebrate and then make promises to the gods in hopes they would earn good favor in the coming new year. Their most popular “resolution” was to eliminate their debt. Sound familiar?

The problem with many resolutions is that they are hard to keep and tend to fall by the wayside usually around mid - February. There are several reasons this happens to us every year:

~ We tend to make ridiculously long lists of resolutions, and then we are overwhelmed with our long list.

~ We tend to keep our resolutions a secret or fear of failure, and then no one checks up on us to help us stick to it.

~ We tend to pick things that we really don’t want to do. It’s either difficult, timeconsuming, expensive, or tedious.

The success of your New Year’s resolution starts in your head. Find something that really matters to you, and then be specific about what you want and how you want it to play out. Then share that goal or resolution with someone and have them check in on you to help keep you on track.

Overly ambitious goals can drain your confidence when they’re not met. It’s a proven fact and a personally proven fact. I didn’t share my goals with anyone, and I didn’t put any plan in place for 2020. I have one accomplishment. Can you guess what it was? Here is my list:

1. Lose weight 2. Exercise 3. Drink more water 4. Implement a vegan day 5. Go to bed earlier 6. Only drink wine or cocktails on the weekend 7. Pay off credit card debt

Guess what happened next? 2020 was NOT the year to try a bunch of new resolutions…I think I managed to drink more water every day. That’s it. Why? Because life changed. Because my schedule changed. Because I was in survival mode and because I was home every day.

Everything else went out the window. I paid down some of my credit card debt because we were home every day, but honestly, I picked up a few bad habits after sitting home for six months.

Resolutions are hard. New habits are hard. Setting goals is HARD. It’s like we are punishing ourselves for all the things we don’t do, the things we don’t WANT to do, and the things that we will probably never do unless there’s an urgent need. We wind up setting ourselves up for failure because we really aren’t that interested in doing any of those things.

So what if we change that? What if we think of things we want to do or sound good to us and put a plan in place so that we can do some of those things? What if we:

- Perfect a recipe. Choose a recipe you love and truly master it. Memorize it. Make it so wonderfully delicious that you are known for it.

- Start a skincare routine. Work with a licensed esthetician to create a custom skincare routine or you can try and figure out your skin type, then use products that are suited for your type.

- Explore a new area within one hour’s drive from your home. Pick a direction, use your map app, and discover a new town or city.

- Make coffee at home whenever possible. Spend a little extra and get that French Press or that fancy Pour Over Carafe. Freshly made, really good coffee, is worth the effort and the initial expense, and it’s so-o-o yummy. - Practice Random Acts of Kindness. It doesn’t have to be daily….maybe just once or twice a month, but making kindness a part of your life will change your life for the better, and it’s fun to do! We make coffee at home most of the time, but I have paid for someone’s latte, someone’s dog food, and even pre-paid for someone’s breakfast at a local bagel shop. Just because.

- Want to eat a little healthier? Try a local farmer’s market. Then talk to a farmer. Any farmer, just pick one. Or two. Find out about that heirloom tomato (that tastes and smells like a tomato), and find out how they are less acidic and better for you. Love cheese? Talk to the dairy farmer about the nine varieties of cheese they make from their grass-fed cows. Cutting out some of your carbs? Find out about the non - GMO grain that is naturally lower in carbs, better for you, and locally grown and harvested. We can’t cut out everything, but we can make better choices, right?

- Make a new friend. Building a strong community is key to a happy and healthy life. Having a couple of good friends keeps us connected, in tune with our community, and happy.

- Start collecting your family’s recipes and make a recipe box or journal. Do you know how to make Grandma’s famous coffee cake? Do you know what kind of butter she uses? (salted or unsalted) Vanilla(Mexican? Double or triple strength)? How about Uncle Rob’s barbecue sauce? What’s the secret ingredient in your mom’s fried chicken?

- Get a puzzle of something you find interesting or beautiful and complete it. It’s meditative and quiet while also stimulating your brain.

- If it’s time for a pet, go to an animal shelter or contact your local rescue group and adopt. If it’s not the right time, area shelters, training programs, and adoption networks are always in search of volunteers. You’ll be helping local animals and spending time with other animal lovers.

The key is to find things you actually want to do and then work on doing them.

What about some of the bad habits we have? Pick one and try to work on it. If it really bugs you, tell yourself you are eliminating that bad habit. Bite your nails? Leave all the lights on at home? Go to sleep with your makeup on? Hit the snooze button 10 times before getting up in the morning? Pick one habit you really want to change, and go for it. Once you are successful, you can choose something else to work on.

Ok, now I’m going to share one of my New Year’s Resolutions with you. Remember, having someone help hold you accountable is one of the keys to success. Ready?

I want to learn how to successfully, easily, and flawlessly apply false eyelashes. It’s a thing again, and they really are pretty when applied correctly. Someone, please check on me to see if I can do it without looking like I have crooked caterpillars on my eyes!

xoxo,