A Positive Start to the New Year

Picture this:

Its Wednesday. The gym is at full capacity. Everyone is posting pictures of their meal prep for the rest of the week. The words “new year, new me” chase you down a long corridor.

Is it the newest horror flick? No. 

Worse.

It’s the ‘

New Year’.

Have you ever visited a smoothie place or stepped foot in a yoga studio?

If so…

brace yourself for an inbox full of quick fixes and empty promises. A green juice cannot make you America’s Next Top Model in less than 3 weeks. A healthy drink can give you a full serving veggies you may not otherwise get, which can make you feel great! But don’t become enthralled with the idea of transforming your body overnight, like so many companies try to convince to do.

If you decide to give yourself goals for the new year, it is best to set healthy and realistic goals.

What does a “healthy and realistic” goal look like?

A nontoxic goal has a few criteria:

This means that your goal will not compromise your physical health, force you to develop a hurtful mindset or damage your spiritual well being.

A way to ensure you don’t fall for the hype that is “new year, new me” is to set broader goals. Instead of saying “I will have abs by summer” try setting a goal that sounds like “I will go to the gym 5 times a week”. An unhealthy mental goal may be, “I will earn the highest grade in my class this semester.” A healthy mental goal could be “I will study for my entrance exam everyday.”

Focus on the 

process,

 not the 

outcome.

You cannot spend the entirety of the next year comparing yourself to anybody.  At the end of the day, you don’t know anything about their life and how they achieved the goal you want to mirror or be better than.

The only person you can compare yourself to is – guess who? Yourself. 

Don’t get caught up in the social media success stories, because half of that shit is edited or fabricated anyway.

Nobody is going to post the fact that they gained 5 pounds last month. So save yourself some headache and focus on your own wellbeing.

Why do you want to lose weight or ace the test?

Is it to satisfy a need or want of your own?

Or is it to prove something to your classmates? Or maybe to post the glamorous pic Instagram has ever seen? Is it to get into the school your parents (and not you) have always dreamed of?

Consider your motivation for achieving this goal carefully.

Just be certain that you are committing yourself to this goal because it is for you and you completely.

The new year is a great tradition that allows us to reset and reevaluate our current path. It is a built-in opportunity to reflect on our lives and make adjustments where needed. But it is just as important to make sure our goals are well-intentioned and healthy, before going on a journey that will cause more harm than good.

If you do decide to make a resolution this season, ensure that it is a goal that will help you become the best version of yourself, for yourself.