Step away from the shouty headlines this January
OK, I get it. It’s the New Year. It’s grey and more than a little soggy. You may be feeling bloated, jaded and questioning the meaning of life. Unfortunately this means that you are more than a little susceptible to all or nothing self-improvement programmes.
‘NEW YOU’ they scream, or promise ‘BEST YOU EVER’. It’s so easy to get sucked in when nearly every advert you see tunes into your fear that you are just not enough as you are… and if you don’t do something drastic NOW you have no hope of being happy EVER AGAIN.
After all, the ever-expanding diet and fitness industry relies on you feeling sub-standard. That’s how it gobbles up all your money.
Now, I am never going to discourage my clients from moving around more or becoming healthier. But I would recommend that, as you dust off your trainers, you take a mental step away from all the ‘Spend just £50 now and change your life forever’ click bait.
Have a mental spring clean instead. It’s free and its effects will last longer than a cupboard full of meal replacement shakes. It’s also a gentler approach than vowing you will throw yourself into a cold shower at 6am for the rest of the year (my apologies to Wim Hof devotees).
Instead of all or nothing, and then possibly feeling more discouraged, I invite you to consider the following. Just as (in an ideal world) there are no bad or good foods, just food that has different effects on you - how would it be to think of yourself as having lots of habits that help or hinder you? Drop the judgement and think about what you can tweak.
Sure there are things you can stop or start doing. Determined action that you commit to and see through. Or there could be smaller shifts that can build into a healthier way of life.
Perchance you could give yourself 66 days to try on a new ritual for size. I’m not suggesting anything dodgy here involving aprons or underground ceremonies, more like going to bed by 10pm if you are perpetually tired… or going for a walk every Sunday if you want to get fitter.
Why 66 days? Well scientifically that’s the time it takes to establish a new habit.
Take the shouting out of it, both from external advertising and internal self-flagelation, and be kind to yourself this January. Remember the prompts:
What can you try?
What can you tweak?
Decide on one to two small changes and focus on them for 66 days.
Little shifts are far more likely to last. Making unrealistic demands on yourself, while basically telling yourself that you are a massive failure and must do better, will only make you feel pants.
Wishing you a wonderful year of gradual growth. (Yeah, I know that doesn’t sound as sexy as a ‘stunning transformation’ but it’s far more likely to make you feel better by 2025).
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