It feels as though no one on this planet has the time-sensing capabilities to truly understand how fast 2022 flew by, but we’re near its end now, and that means 2023 is on the horizon. We haven’t had the best start to the decade in many ways, which is why it’s important to brush that dust from our shoulders and continue on in fighting form.
It might be that a rejuvenation of your self and priorities are required to keep us in the best shape. In order to do that, and especially after the indulgences of the festive season, it’s good to consider what changes may need to be made, and how we can ‘update’ our day to day lives.
Part of that also means refreshing ourselves through self-care, and perhaps switching up how we express or present ourselves to the world. If you can do that, then coming into the new year with a brand new perspective is almost guaranteed.
But how might we get started in that direction? In this post, we hope to discuss that and more:
Have Fun With Fashion Again
Expressing yourself is a healthy way to rejuvenate your sense of well-being, be that through enjoying your winter wardrobe, wearing some of the clothes purchased for you during the festive period, or trying a new accessory such as a helix or septum piercing.
This isn’t to spend lavishly on new clothes or fashionable items just to make yourself feel better, but a healthy way to think about how you want to present yourself to the new year, and how confident that may help you become.
Moreover, having fun is the main thing. If you can move into the new year with a genuine smile on your face, then for the most part you’re already winning.
Try Sustainable Exercise
It’s not easy to get back into exercise after an indulgent festive period, but if you can spare a few hours to try, then you’ll be able to build that momentum once again and start to feel on top of your game.
Now, the last thing anyone wants is to begin running fast and far after still nursing your new year’s party tiredness, and so perhaps you could start with a few easy walks listening to some relaxing music.
Maybe you could try heading to a new activity, such as finally going swimming in your local member’s pool, and then spending some time in the sauna. If you just want to exercise at home, then yoga may help you relax more than anything else, while also exercising and increasing your core strength muscle.
Sustainable exercise, in this way, not only feels rejuvenating but can be applied at your own pace. You then get to decide if you continue that momentum, or if you’d like to expand it by working out with a structured program. That way, instead of promising that you’ll become a superathlete in the first month of the year, you’ll sit back, give yourself time, and focus on your health at the pace that feels right.
Fall In Love With Healthy Cooking
What we eat often determines a good deal of how we experience each day, and so it’s healthy to sit back and refine how we cook and what meals we cook.
Perhaps you’d like to get involved in meal prep, where on a Sunday you cook a batch of food, place it in containers and then refrigerate/freeze them. That means during your workday you don’t have to waste money on fast food or only bring sandwiches, you can eat a tasty meal filled with nutrition.
You’re likely already quite the competent home cook, so why not focus on a new cuisine that helps you feel a little challenged? Perhaps this is the year you go into that authentic cultural supermarket and bring home some treats, checking out some wonderful recipes and feeling nothing but fulfilled thanks to that. In the long run, it may help you expand and explore your tastes, while also remaining as delicious as can be.
Consider Your Social Environment
It’s good to consider your social environment and how healthy it is. A ‘life review’ of sorts can be a worthwhile process to get involved in at the start of the year, because you feel fresh faced and ready to plan for the year ahead.
It might be that for the last twelve months you’ve felt rather tired because of a friend group that always seems to be involved in drama, or gossiping, or dismissing one another. It’s your right to move on from that, making the decision to build new friends at a hobbyist craft club or class – or wherever you wish to go.
Maybe your work colleagues are a little much and you feel less obligated to hang out with them every other week out of obligation, or because your manager likes to emphasize how you’re all one big family.
Considering your social environment doesn’t necessarily mean cutting people off – so don’t think our advice is the only way forward. It’s good to ask yourself, however, “will this year be better or worse with certain people in my life?” – Our time is limited after all. That question may help you ensure a better outcome where you have the courage to pivot, and focus your time on the people who truly deserve it, and give that back to the extent this is realistic.
One Achievement You Hope For
Many people like to set a large resolution for the new year, be that no longer drinking so much, reading more, or going to the gym three times a week. Those are all good goals to keep of course, but it can be helpful to select something you can quantity appropriately and then measure. Keep it to one goal you wish to take part in, and you’ll find the best route forward.
For example, you might consider that this year, you wish to write a book. You will do so by writing 1,000 words a week if you can, meaning that in less than a year, you will have a first draft. 1,000 words sounds daunting, but it isn’t actually that much, and you may go for longer during sessions in which you have free time. That achievement can help you ensure a fantastic end result, possibly enabling you to take the stepping stone towards another possible goal of yours.
Give Yourself Credit
One of the most life-affirming decisions you can make is to be a little less strict with yourself. Most people will understand that the habit of constant self-criticism and even putting ourselves down can become quite entrenched after a while, and may even have developed from childhood.
It’s good to actively change that narrative in the new year, talking to yourself as if you were your best friend, which really you are, and then allowing yourself to make mistakes or to have flaws, working on them if you can, and accepting them if you can’t. As we get older we tend to know ourselves more, but it’s important to understand that moving forward and being more resilient in life doesn’t mean becoming artificially tough, it means being able to give ourselves a break.
So – if you do fall off your exercise regimen, then simply try again. You’re not worse for the experience. That kind of attitude can help you free up so much mental tension you might have fallen into this year – and with the decade starting how it did, no one could blame you for feeling a little frayed at the edges.
Give & Show Your Love
That love can also extend to those around you, especially when you take a second to sit back and really consider who and what you’re grateful for. From your cats meowing at you to let them out and feed them in the morning, to your child hugging you as they come back from school, it’s these little things that often put a smile on our face and help us realize what really matters.
Moreover, when you express love, you tend to get it back. If your one resolution for the new year is to try and be more appreciative and loving, it will improve your life significantly. There’s nothing quite like sparking that kind of positive change in your life, and seeing others respond to it.
Try To Bust A Misconception
Many people stick with the perceptions they’ve kept close to their heart for years, and that’s not an indictment of them, as it’s hard to renew every opinion you have via a reviews process, because even you can’t think of every opinion you have at will, it needs to be in context.
It’s good to bust a misconception this year, though, if you’re looking for an adventure. Perhaps you don’t like sushi, but are willing to try that new place that just opened up in your town because it’s getting rave reviews. Little things like this keep life fresh, and help you move into your best, growing self.
With this advice, you’re sure to feel yourself, and become a better you, in 2023 and beyond.
