Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!
That’s welsh for Happy New Year by the way!
Yes, I know it’s the 20th January and you could say I’m late to the party on writing a ‘welcoming in the new year‘ blog BUT that’s me…keeping to tradition…and continuing to be ‘the late one’ out of my friends. Continuing to unapologetically be me…flaws included.
Anyway, seen as it is the New Year…’What’s your new years resolution going to be?‘
THIS QUESTION.
The ONLY question you ever seem to hear for 2 Weeks post-Christmas and you know what it grinds on me.
Everyone sets new years resolutions or at least feels pressured to…whether that’s to eat healthier, go to the gym, work on yourself etc. etc. you get my meaning. New Years resolutions are good to have, HOWEVER, I also call out on the BULLSHIT that come with New Years resolutions. The word ‘resolution‘ means “a firm decision to do or not to do something“.
Already putting an onus on ourselves. If we do not succeed, we are failures.
Secondly, it’s January…we are still in the middle of winter…if you’re like me, you will be all too familiar with going to work in the dark and leaving work in the dark. It isn’t great for anyones motivation. By the end of your working day all you really want to do is stay in the warm and snuggle up in bed with your dog and you know what, no one will judge you for that, except for maybe Sandra down the street *insert eye roll emoji*.
People think that as soon as they make a resolution they must stick to it and live by it. Resulting in most people giving up because they burn themselves out and because of the ‘burn out’, most just sack off their resolutions…which is what I like many others have done on a number of years.
That is why last year (2018) and this year (2019) I made a decision to no longer make New Years Resolutions but to instead set myself a GOAL for the New Year. Last year, it was to lose weight; this year it’s to work on my upper body strength.
Definition of a goal; “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; or aim or desired result“. 
Now for starters, I much prefer this definition because it means you are setting goals to improve yourself. It’s something to work at/towards. Just because it’s the 1st Jan doesn’t mean you now stop eating chocolate and go to the gym EVERYDAY. The purpose of a goal is to make gradual changes to reach your GOAL.
You don’t have to go on a strict low calorie, low carb, drinking water and eating air diet to loose weight. Instead with a goal, you improve your diet.
We’ve just had Christmas, where if you’re anything like me; you’ve over indulged and eaten your body weight in Christmas foodie deliciousness. Instead of going cold turkey (pardon the pun) and cutting out all the rubbish, slowly and steadily reduce the amount of chocolate or crisps your eating. Eat less fast food but indulge in a burger if you fancy a burger. BUT don’t beat yourself up about it and see it as failure because god forbid you went over your calories for the day. With a goal like eating healthy; you need to also learn to feed your body what it craves sometimes, something I’m still learning myself.
OR
If you decide to join the gym, that doesn’t mean you start going 5 times a week, doing heavy 2 hour long sessions straight away (not even I spend that much time in the gym). Build it up slowly. Start with 2 sessions, then 3, then 4 and then 5. Just because you don’t go 5 times a day on your first week does not mean that you have failed. Which is why I prefer setting goals for example; ‘my goal is to go to the gym more often for 30-45 minutes a day’. A more achievable goal.
I get some people may read this and think…easier said than done Lucy. Yes, you are right, it is. Because you also need the determination and the mindset to Dream, Achieve and Believe.
From experience, I have learnt that you DO NOT HAVE to start your New Year Goals in January. Last year, I didn’t actually start my goal until February.
Why wait a month to start your goal you ask…
Well for starters…‘GYMTIMIDATION’ it’s a thing (a topic which will be discussed in a future post), which is why I didn’t start in January. I knew my gym would be packed, resulting in an anxious Lucy thinking everyone was looking and judging – which is FAR from the truth!! Anyway, I picked Feb to join because I knew it would be quieter. I got myself a PT to show me how stuff worked (SHOUT OUT TO DANIEL BELL -he’s still my PT and the best one in The Valleys). This was my first step to working towards my goal of eventually losing 10kg and guess WHAT…..
Even though I didn’t start my New Years Goal in January as is the Unwritten Law of New Years Resolutions, I still go to the gym and I still eat healthily whilst still eating Pizza when I want!
So NO, you do not have to start your 2019 goals in January just because every other Tom, Dick and Harry are OR because Sandra (sorry to any Sandra’s out there but it was the first name that came to mind) down the street says you have to! Instead do you! Start when you feel ready! Don’t feel pressured by society to do something that deep down you don’t want to do, because if you don’t want to do it – DON’T BLOODY DO IT!
So, don’t sweat it! It’s 2019, enjoy life! Eat that cake if you want cake!
I’m all about living life by this simple statement in 2019;
Health, Beauty and all things Booty!
xoxo
Legal Life With Lucy 