It’s March, which means the trial months of 2020 are over. The residuals of 2019 are fading. We are here and established in this New Year, which begs the questions: What New Year’s resolutions are you keeping? Which ones are important?

An article published in Forbes by M. Maddock addressed ten different resolutions “successful” people make and keep. This year, keep in mind that success is defined differently for each person, their values and experience. Yet, three resolutions that seemed salient for all people are:

  • Your time is important! Stick to your Not-To-Do Identify the things that matter least and take them off your plate. Do not do them! Stop prioritizing things that do not really matter, put yourself first.
  • Essential first, technology second: The article only spoke to email but I am a firm believer in deep breaths and some coffee before email, text messages, Instagram, news, or any form of digital stress. Let your body be present in the day and moment before entering the digital land.
  • Invent more Choices: We often times feel trapped or stuck in a situation and thus unhappy. Take this small vow to start brainstorming choices and options when you feel stuck or unhappy. Even just brainstorming a plan and seeing other avenues or steps you can take will start to immediately lighten the load.

When examining our resolutions, it is important that we are able to identify the WHY behind them. The resolution, “I want to lose 20 pounds” has two different lenses. Why? If the answer is “Because I want to be healthier for myself and my family” then the goal has a good reasoning, but may be able to be edited toward healthier choices and habits rather than locking down into a trivial number. If the answer is “I am insecure about my body” or “Then I will be my ‘best self’”, then maybe there is a self-love goal that would be better suited and create a healthier path to security.

Keep the resolutions that cause you to grow and toss the rest! Keep the changes that make you feel good while you are working to achieve them. The biggest resolution to keep of 2020 is to not make misery the new habit.

By: Adalyn Wilson, MHC Intern