New Year – New Me? Sorry – not yet!

New Year – New You! Kick start your New Year! Make 2023 Your Year! Ace Dry January! Go 100% Veganuary! Am I the only one who doesn’t find these types of headlines motivating? Whoever thought it was a good idea to try to implement big changes in January? The days are dark and cold. I’m tired. I worked hard to prepare for Christmas around all the normal responsibilities. Then I was ill. And family members were ill. So now, 9 days into January, I am just coming to terms with the New Year. And a voice tells me I’ve missed the boat for the big New Year Resolution kick-off, so I might as well wait until next year.

But there must be another way. I think January New Year Resolutions are fine for people who didn’t have any responsibilities over Christmas, and who had time over the holidays for rest and renewal. In that case starting a new regime in January is a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and if that is you then I wish you every success. But if you are one of the many people who hurtled through the holidays with a combination of work/family/caring/church responsibilities, then you too may have missed the big New Year Resolution kick-off. But don’t give up – maybe you can join me in Plan F. Let’s aim for making a change in February. By then the days are starting to get a tiny bit longer and snowdrops and crocuses start to peep through and give a hint of Spring to come. But Plan F comes with two pre-requisite conditions that you need to think about over the next couple of weeks:

· Choose a goal that is truly yours – don’t feel obliged to set a goal you got from Social Media, or what your friend says you should do. You don’t need to be the same as other people – what would make you a better/healthier/stronger version of yourself?

· Choose a method of working towards the goal that fits with your life and personality. Again, you don’t need to work on it in the same way as someone else would – how will it really fit into your life?

Putting in some thinking time now will pay dividends when you start your plan in February and make it much more likely that you will succeed.

So, are you going to set up your Plan F? Thinking time starts now! And if you need some help to keep yourself realistic and optimistic as you think it through, just get in touch with me on elizabeth@eascott.co.uk.