INSIGHT
TEACHERS AID
DETOX YOUR LIFE By Michelle Despault
According to an Ipsos poll from last year, 30 per cent of Canadians make New Year’s resolutions. The specific areas in which we resolve to think or behave differently are unique to each of us, but there are some general trends. According to Ipsos, the top five resolutions for Canadians are: 1. Living a healthier lifestyle 2. Focusing on the positives 3. Spending more time with family
and friends 4. Being true to one’s self 5. Learning something new
We also differ in our determination and resolve in keeping our resolutions. Six per cent of us will break our resolutions right after we make them. However, about 27 per cent will maintain their new behaviours, attitudes, or ways of being throughout the year. It’s interesting that when we undertake this exercise of looking at our lives and making resolutions, our starting point is generally feelings of lack or scarcity. We aren’t happy (or as happy as we would like to be), we aren’t fit enough, we could be more [insert your resolution here]. We rarely look at our lives and feel proud of how far we have come. We are conditioned to be predominantly present to what’s missing in our lives. As I was thinking about 2017 and what I wanted to create for myself, I realized
that everything I was thinking about – losing weight, improving my family’s financial health, and hoping for better physical health for my friends and family – all boiled down to one thing: joy. So many of the endeavours we undertake are really in the pursuit of more joy or happiness in our lives. We believe that losing weight, taking up a hobby or activity, getting out for date night more often, or even paying off our mortgage, will increase the level of happiness and satisfaction we have in our lives. And it might! Or it might not. I make the same resolution every year: I want to reduce my consumption of Starbucks beverages, in an effort to spare my waistline and my pocketbook, and to prove that I can meet the challenge I have set. But every year, this resolution is broken just a few days after the start of the new year. Why? Because I don’t really want to give this up. I enjoy it tremendously; it brings me joy. What doesn’t bring me joy is how I will then berate myself for not having the willpower to follow through on my resolution. So this year I am taking a different approach. I am going to focus on creating and being present to the joy in my life. And to start, I am going to “detox” my life. I am undertaking a process of identifying and removing from my life anything that is not giving me access to joy. I was inspired by Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying
Up: The Japanese Art of De-cluttering and Organizing. In the book, while specifically talking about the home environment, Marie challenges readers to look at everything we have with a new lens, asking ourselves, “Does this bring me joy?” If the answer is no, then the thing should go. I am expanding this notion to all areas of my life and looking at where I can eliminate or reduce anything that does not serve me. Whether it be decorative knick-knacks that are, in reality, just clutter in my home, or habits like bingewatching Netflix, or people who are not champions for me to be the biggest and best expression of myself – it’s all up for grabs! It’s not going to be easy. It will require being really honest with myself, genuinely exploring other alternatives, and dealing with all the people in my life who won’t understand. It’s also going to take a fundamental shift in mindset. All those nasty thoughts we tell ourselves about how we can’t have or afford what we want, or that we’re not worth it? Those are all going as well! If it doesn’t bring me joy, or isn’t helping me and my family have the things we say we want, then it’s going. Take a look for yourself – could your life use a little detox, to help you move toward your goals this year? Michelle Despault is Director in the Communications department at the OECTA Provincial Office.
PHOTO: @ wong yu liang / Shutterstock.com
The start of a new year, whether it is a calendar year or a school year, is an exciting time to renew and refresh. It’s a natural time for us to take stock of our lives and our dreams, and to ask ourselves what we want to be, do, or have. We examine our past year and consider our progress toward our goals. In an attempt to get us closer to our goals, many of us resolve to do things differently. This is why the start of every new year is rife with resolutions from people who want to be healthier, wealthier, happier, more successful, and more connected to others.