Let’s talk a little bit about New Year’s resolutions. The concept is understandable; life is all about growing, and what better time to take stock and make plans than the beginning of a new year? But what if, looking back, 2015 turned out to be less than you expected it to be? What if you didn’t make as much money as you planned to, didn’t lose as much weight, didn’t learn a new language? Well, don’t beat up on yourself- that’s all way in the past! It’s a  new year, and a new opportunity to try and reach those goals again. Sounds like a plan! Or maybe not…

The promise of a new year gets us all swept up in the idea of “new year, new you,” and we get inspired to create the “new and improved” versions of ourselves. Here’s an interesting table on New Year’s resolution statistics. Take a look and see which are the most popular and how many people actually follow through. You won’t be surprised at the rate of success in sticking to them. So how about trying something different this year? Don’t get me wrong- I’m all for growing and improving, I’m just saying to make resolutions with the right attitude. If you make a long list of things you think you want to do, there’s a good chance you’ll get overwhelmed and do nothing. If you create goals that are not realistic you are setting yourself up for failure. You’re not a failure and you shouldn’t be made to feel like one just because you think you should be doing something different. Stop for a minute before you write that list and think about whether those goals are really things that you want to accomplish and not just things that society and the media make you think should want to accomplish?

So this year, free yourself from the expectations you think you should have. Make those resolutions, but think about yourself in a positive way. You are not too fat, too dumb, too irresponsible or disorganized! You are you and you are fabulous! You might decide there are a few challenges you want to tackle to help you be your most fabulous self. So accept that nobody’s perfect and that you will do your best to meet your goals- and not someone else’s. Do things like exercise and eat healthy because it will make you feel good about you and not because you’re worthless if you don’t. And if you have a hard time getting started, that’s okay, because making changes is hard. Once you can accept that and the fact that change doesn’t happen overnight, you will have freed yourself from the pressure and disappointment of setting unattainable goals. And stay positive; maybe you didn’t lose 20 pounds, but you lost 5! That is also an accomplishment and because you did it you are a successful and productive person. Be yourself and love yourself! Happy New Year!!