I’m really not sure how I feel about New Year’s resolutions. I think it can be good to have a feeling of a fresh start or a particular focus for the year but I don’t like the idea that we might be under pressure to achieve something.
In recent years, I’ve used a word of the year as my guiding resolution. Here’s a blog I wrote about this a few years ago. I’m still trying to decide what this year’s word might be – I was waiting for inspiration to strike when I thought to myself “inspiration” might be a good word.
Maybe in the sense of being open to fresh thinking and new ideas but also in the sense that I should trust my own inspiration and gut feeling. Hopefully those 2 aspects don’t seem conflicting!
Maybe I’ll mull it over for a while – as I said, I don’t want anything to feel pressurised!
Happy New Year
Sinead
I have often mentioned the author, Oliver Burkeman, in this newsletter and I remain a fan of his work in 2024.
Below is a quote from his blog “Don’t feel obliged” and sums up the feeling that I think accompanies resolutions. If we set ourselves a new target or decide to start a new hobby, we can start to resent it when it begins to feel like a daily pressure. I think this is especially true if we tell someone about our plans.
“One of my special talents, looking at my life so far, has been the amazing ability to turn any activity or opportunity – no matter how potentially delightful or exciting – into a burdensome obligation that I wish I didn’t have to fulfill.”
Cold January when daylight hours are limited and we are returning to work or school after a relaxing Christmas break, is definitely not the time to impose burdens on ourselves.
A gentle introduction to the new year is what I recommend.
I love the attitude portrayed by author, Marian Keyes, in this social media post from a few years ago:
We can’t all be Beyoncé.
if everyone was Beyonce, NO-ONE would be Beyoncé.
The world NEEDS mediocre people, those without iron willpower, stamina and killer work ethic.
People whose flaws get the better of them.
Like me.
Sometimes I think that if I stopped eating and sleeping and exercised for 17 hours a day I could be FABALISS.
Never as FABALISS as Bey, but a much more impressive version of me.
But I haven’t got the discipline or the willpower power or -frankly- the energy.
So, I’ll be making NO resolutions tonight to change every single thing about myself.
I am a non-Beyoncé.
And in the human ecosystem, I too have a place.
“You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you.” Eckhart Tolle
“Remove ‘shoulds’ from your vocabulary this year. Start your journey of self-love now.” Kelly Martin
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” Albert Einstein
Sinead Huskisson 