By Heather Miller
If I am being completely honest, I am happy to see 2016 go. This has been a rough year for me, and I am ready to greet a new year. That being said, I have given more thought to what my new year’s resolution should be more than any other year, ever. I have thought and thought on it, and have come up with the final decision that resolutions are just not for me. No matter how rough the year has been.
Sure, I could jump on the bandwagon and tell myself that I will eat better, drink less, exercise more, be a better mom, and so on. But will that really make a difference? For me, no, it will not. I have come to the conclusion that this puts nothing more than added stress on an already stressful life. So, for 2017 I do not vow to be a “new me,” I vow to be a better me.
There is so much pressure on us as individuals as it is, what if we just let ourselves be who we are an for once, and embrace it? We do not need to change ourselves overnight, or over a year. We simply need to be better, all around. We could all care more, about others as well as ourselves. We could all do more, for others as well as ourselves. It seems senseless to me to start off a fresh year with expectations that are set so high we are bound to fail.
This year I will take life as it comes, day by day. If I am able to go to bed each night feeling as though I have done my best for the day, I will be happy. On those nights that I lie my head down feeling less than my best, I will wake the next morning knowing that it is a new day. I will not let my bad days or my mistakes define who I am as a person. I will treat myself with more care and keep in mind that I am no more than a human being who will have ups and downs over the upcoming year.
This is the year that rather than trying to reinvent myself I will nourish who I already am. I hope that you do, too. We are hard enough on ourselves on a normal day. Take this turn of a new year as a chance to tell yourself that you are enough, more than enough. Rather than try to change yourself, love yourself.
Happy New Year, folks. Start it off with love, for yourself!
