…It is a time of new beginnings, fresh ideas, making time for things that are important and worthwhile, detox and cleanliness… We can forget the stupid and idiotic acts we participated in during the festive (drunken) Christmas season, and say to ourselves… ‘Hey, that was last year…it’s in the past, I’m gonna forget it and move on!’

We used to mark the New Year with a tradition called ‘first footing’ (it was meant to bring good luck). People waited behind their door for a dark haired person, who would be the first to enter the house that year, bringing a piece of coal (for warmth), bread (to signify there would always be enough food to eat), some money (for financial prosperity) and some greenery (for long life). The visitor would take some dust or ashes out of the house, denoting the departure of the old year.

In this day and age we make our own luck. (I know that if someone brought me a lump of coal on the 1st of Jan whilst I’m nursing a hangover in my pajamas- I’d tell them where to go!) Many of us take stock of our lives and reflect on the year gone by, making New Year’s resolutions. Yes, we usually (or in my case always) break them by January the 2nd, but still each year we try again, most of the time making the same ones.

This is always going to be the case, unless you make resolutions like, gain weight, spend loads of money (stick it on a third credit card), take up a bad habit (smoking perhaps?!), don’t pay your mobile bill till you get cut off, and walk less (even driving to the postbox, located at the end of your street).

So why is this? If our boss randomly told us in March to survive on 900 calories a day, never utter a swearword and only drink alcohol on our birthday, we would immediately be in the queue for our p45. We wouldn’t accept such ridiculous targets from someone else, so why do we put such pressure on ourselves, setting impossible targets? ‘Because it’s tradition!!!’ I hear you shouting at the screen! Okay, okay… so lets find a happy medium between starting anew and being realistic, because lets face it, New Year is a fabulous time, and setting goals is a great way to boost confidence and make life more meaningful, and as you know- getting you to feel good about yourselves is our main priority here at 100% People!

I reckon we should take our new year’s resolutions and make them exactly what it says on the tin… new YEARs resolutions… in other words, plan our goals over the whole year. Not following yet? Okay, lets do a bit of maths…

So, if you want to lose 2 stone, don’t try to live on water and lettuce leaves and supposedly shedding the weight within 6 weeks (which, incidentally we all know that even if we achieve this, it’s gonna pile straight back on with extras, the minute we start eating ‘normally’ again). Yes I know we love the fantasy that this will be our last ever crash diet, and that if we do it this time, quickly, we will never have to do it again, but the reality is… IT’S NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!!! So get real.

Take that lovely 2 stone you want to lose and make it new YEARS resolution. 2 stone is 28 pounds, which divided by 12 months is 2.333 pounds a month, only just over half a pound a week- that is NOTHING… all it will take is the smallest of lifestyle changes, just making a few healthier choices and doing a tiny bit of exercise each week. Try gentle walking or swimming to start with, or perhaps a dance class- something fun that you can do with friends, turning it into a social event too. (And don’t forget people, exercise is not only good for weight loss and fitness, but the release of endorphins (or ‘dolphins’ as I prefer to call them) makes us feel good about ourselves.)

Yes, this way of losing the weight WILL take the whole year, it will be a very gradual process, but it will also enable you to keep the weight off FOREVER, by making the smallest of habit changes. Surely this is a better option than kidding yourself that you really are going to do it quick this time, only to find that you are another dress size bigger again next Christmas (and as a diet club leader once said to me ‘We all love Santa, but we don’t want to look like him!’ Wise words!!!!).

Likewise, if you’re going to give up smoking, have a look at the year, find a non stressful month, let’s say February or March for instance or whenever is good for you. (Leave at least a month after employing your few healthy habits and mild exercise for weight loss regime, so that you can tackle one new challenge at time, it’s a much better recipe for success.)

I’m sure you follow by now. All you need to do is apply this method to all of your resolutions. If you want to get out of debt, calculate a reasonable amount, small as it may be that you can afford to pay off each month. If your debts are like mine, this may have to be a ‘two year’s resolution’ rather than just a ‘new year’s resolution’, but that is just fine, it’s all progress.

So go forth guys, enjoy making and KEEPING your resolutions this year, being sure to celebrate your successes, however small and gradual they may be!! Happy New Year, and fabulous new you!!

Tags: First footing, goals, new year

This entry was posted on Friday, January 1st, 2010 at 10:00 am and is filed under Daisy Archive, Daisy's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.