It’s coming up to the end of the year, a common time for reflecting on the year that’s passed, and looking forward to the new year ahead.

Too often, we scrutinise ourselves, looking for something to improve, looking for flaws. And we set unrealistic goals. Those goals are frequently unmet, and we end up feeling worse than when we started.

Last year, I thought about my New Year’s Resolutions; I went through the usual, don’t eat as much junk food, don’t go on my phone before bed, etc, but realised that, actually, what I needed to do was focus on the things that were working for me, the things that I wanted to do more of, rather than dwelling on the things that need improving or looking for the negatives.

If we set ourselves a goal with a negative tone e.g. don’t eat junk food, don’t drink as much, don’t spend as much time on my phone, we are restricting ourselves all the time, putting limitations on what we can do. And, being human, we’re more likely to fight against it. By reframing your intention, you can create a positive goal to work towards, something which is rewarding, and you’re more likely to want to do it and succeed. By setting a goal of doing more home cooking, reading more of my book at night, it becomes a positive, enriching experience, rather than a chore. And as a plus, the undesirable behaviours reduce, too.

“New Year, More You!”

This article was first published in Raring2Go! Bury Winter Edition 2017