New Year, new me? Naaaah… New Year, new series of articles on my blog!
It’s called “Keeping it real” and it’s meant to be exactly that: my honest views and real life experiences. The purpose? To let you know that if you struggle with certain things – you are definitely not alone! And to vent a bit, because apparently I’m good at that. 🙂
I’ll start with something quite obvious, considering what time of the year it is…
If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent a huge chunk of your life believing in the Mystical Powers of the Month of January. January, the magical time of the year when everyone takes on at least 10 new, healthy habits and miraculously gets their sh*t together 🙂 The month when gyms are bursting in seams, life goal planners disappear from the shelves, and every second person you see is happily munching on a kale leaf.
Been there, done that and guess what? By mid-Feb I was usually off the bandwagon, having returned to my December lifestyle. And why? Because IT DOESN’T WORK THIS WAY! It took me years to realize a simple truth that introducing new, good habits into your lifestyle requires discipline (spiced up with a bit of motivation), and is not in any way connected with a certain period of the year.
I remember how Santa brought a 20-something me a one-month gym membership. Guess how many times I went? TWICE 😀 Because as much as I loved the idea of getting in shape, I thought that it can be achieved by painting a pretty picture inside my head, and sprinkling it generously with some wishful thinking 🙂 Once I realized there’s actual hard work involved, I immediately withdrew to my comfort zone, immersing myself with what I knew-and-liked: good books, cinema and coffee dates with friends.
Now should be the time to write about what actually worked for me.
I won’t do that though, because I’m most definitely NOT there yet, and I’m currently testing an unorthodox approach of actually starting to introduce changes to my lifestyle in the last week of December. Not because it’s the right month to do it, but because I think I’ve finally created a solid base for myself to start off (also, because my wonderful husband decided to enroll us to Ooredoo 10k Run, which is happening in January and I do not wish to make a complete fool of myself in front of thousands of people).
What is the “solid base” I just mentioned? For me it’s pretty simple – I’ve finally managed to dedicate fixed times in my busy working mom’s schedule to exercise. With the help of my husband (who I think is feeling a bit guilty about ambushing me with the 10k Run thingy), I’m now able to move my butt not once, but TWICE a day, for a glorious hour of sweat, tears and some “I’ll never do it again”-s.
And what about the other habits? Life goals? Career objectives? Well, nothing. I’ve been working on those slowly for a long time now and honestly don’t care that January is upon us 🙂 Also, for the record, there’s no “new me” in the New Year, and that’s a good thing. I like the “old me” and I don’t see any reason to change it just because the calendar says that 2022 is about to begin.