New Year, New You? Don’t Fall Into This Trap!

Happy New Year! I hope your year is off to a great start! We’re only two days into the new year, yet how many times have you already heard the phrase, or seen the commercials for – “A NEW YEAR, A NEW YOU!!!”?

My question is, what’s wrong with the “old you”?!

I’d like for you to take a minute and think about all the things your body does for you each day. For instance, did you know that your heart pumps around 2,000 gallons of blood through your body each day?

They may not look exactly like we’d like them to look, or feel as good as we’d like for them to feel, but our bodies are absolutely amazing.

When we start wellness changes from the mindset that we need a ‘new’ us, the focus tends to be on all the things don’t like about ourselves. This may be enough motivation to get us started, but it’s not enough to sustain our wellness efforts over the long run.

We need to get rid of that idea of needing “a new you” as if we’re irreparably broken and the only “fix” is a new us. We don’t need a “new us.” Just because we may need to make some improvements to be healthier and/or happier doesn’t mean we need to change everything about ourselves.

I’ve seen it year after year at the fitness clubs I worked in. People came in on January 1st in search of that “new you,” tried to change everything about themselves, and by March, were back to doing what they had always done.

That all or nothing mentality just doesn’t work for most people. And the truth is, these people didn’t fail; they just didn’t have a plan that worked for them.

Wellness Changes That Last

Rather than just deciding we need a complete overhaul, a more effective way to approach wellness changes is to determine what we’re already doing well and build on those things.

Starting from a positive rather than negative mindset, finding our “why” for wellness changes, and starting small can help us build positive, sustainable habits that can improve our wellness.

When contemplating wellness changes it’s a good idea to set aside some time to think about what we really want for each dimension of Wellness. Assessing where we are right now and where we want to be can give us a starting point for setting some meaningful goals.

When we determine which areas we want to change, a good place to start is to give ourselves credit for what we’re doing well, and start to build on that.

 For example, perhaps you already eat two servings of vegetables every day, but you know you need to eat more. Since you’ve established the habit of eating some veggies, it’s easier to add one more serving each day. Once you’re able to be consistent with that habit 90% of the time, you can choose a different habit to build on.

Of course, for many of us, making only one change at a time doesn’t feel realistic. It may feel like if we only take on one thing at a time, we’ll never get where we want to be with our wellness.

That’s okay – if you want to take on more than one change at a time, just follow the same process for each area you want to improve. Start with what you’re already doing well with and build on that. The important thing is that you make small changes you can build on, and that are sustainable over time. I would suggest that you only choose a few to work on at one time, though.

A “Renewed” You

We don’t need a “new us.” What we need is to appreciate how wonderful we truly are (after all, we are made in God’s image), determine what we need to do to improve our wellness if it’s not ideal, and go from there. Rather than a “new” us, we can be “renewed” through our wellness efforts.

The FAITH-full Health Roadmap

If you’d like a little help mapping out your roadmap for your healthiest self, I’d love to send you my FAITH-full Health Roadmap. Just fill out the form below and I’ll send it right out!

Have you ever fallen into the “New Year, New You” trap? What have you found most helpful for making wellness changes that last? Please share!

Blessings,

~Terri

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