Do This Before Setting New Year’s Resolutions

Dec 20

One of the things I’ve worked on within myself this year (and will have to continue working on in 2022) is allowing things to take the time they take, and not comparing myself to other people’s timelines. After bringing more awareness to my own personal inclination to hustle 24/7 this year, it’s clearer than ever that goal setting is only productive when you pace yourself. I have a list of things I’m calling in for 2022, but first I am concentrating on hyping myself up over how I’ve been able to evolve this past year, before tacking on a new goal.

New Year’s Intentions Are Only Healthy If We Have Perspective

I have a lot of big dreams, and I definitely rely on structure to move forward. My friends love to tease me when I add social activities to my Google cal but without it I wouldn’t be able to function! Needless to say, this Virgo moon loves routine and action steps- and resolution season makes me tick.

While I tend to prefer the flexibility of setting and adapting goals all year long, this time of year is especially exciting because intentions are collectively on our minds. There’s something special and powerful in that momentum! On the flipside, all that emphasis can also make us prone to putting too much pressure on ourselves. This often leads to setting unattainable, unrealistic, and unproductive goals without a plan in place to accomplish the required baby steps to get there.

If we don’t take the time to reflect on everything we had to do to get where we are at the end of the year and congratulate ourselves a little, we burn out on the new intentions by the end of January. Just like I’m a firm believer that a few minutes of movement, every day is a bigger deal for your well-being than a mega intense sweat session every once in a while, it’s the little steps towards our goals that actually get us there.

A regular gratitude practice has been proven to not only improve happiness, but to enhance sleep, and boost immunity. As you may have noticed these past few years, there’s not much we can effectively accomplish professionally or personally when we’re struggling with our mental health, not getting good sleep, and worried about our physical well-being. So, before you make that long New Year’s Resolution checklist of where you want to be, take time to appreciate where you are. It will make all the difference in the new year. Since creating a daily gratitude practice as one of my resolutions circa 2017, I can personally vouch for the life-changing magic of learning to be your own cheerleader and celebrate your body, relationship, job, fitness level, etc where it’s at in this very moment— not what you hope it will be in the future.

Conclusion

It’s great to have goals, and it’s ok to want to change things up— that’s living, is it not?! However, given the fact that we’re nearly 2 years into a major collective trauma with Coronavirus and our physical and emotional health has never been more at stake, IMO, prioritizing gratitude is the most impactful thing you can do for your big dreams- whatever they may be. It will also make crushing your goals as they come even more satisfying. Before writing out a to-do list for the new year, do some journaling or chat with a loved one about all the ways you’ve grown and succeeded this year. It’ll make you feel so much more powerful when it comes to taking action on what’s next.

I made Helen Phelan Studio for you to enjoy your movement practice and cultivate self love and body appreciation on a regular basis through body neutral pilates based fitness. If you’re interested in checking out any of the 400+ classes on HPS, click here to get started on your free 10 day trial!