Around January every year, people tend to make New Year’s resolutions that center around losing weight. Historically, 43% of all Americans vowed they were going to lose weight in the upcoming year. While aiming to take care of your body is never a bad thing, sometimes having a resolution that starts on the premise that your current body isn’t good enough can lead to even more failure in the future. Telling yourself bad things about your body puts you in a dangerous mindset that deteriorates your self-worth.
Goal-setting is not a bad thing, but as you’re considering which goals you want to target, don’t forget you are more than your body! When people only make resolutions based on their weight, they neglect the rest of themselves. Humans have more than physical needs. We have emotional, mental, spiritual, and relational needs that go beyond losing weight.
Let’s dive into some things you can do in the New Year to improve yourself in all areas.
Get More Sleep
It is something we hear often: good quality sleep is the key to success. Not getting enough sleep at night is linked to so many health problems and can significantly reduce the quality of life. So this year, aim not only to get more sleep, but better sleep. Focus on finding a consistent pattern that works for you. Go to bed and wake up at the same time, read before bed, make sure your room is dark, and maybe even invest in better sheets that are cozier. Do whatever you can to get better sleep this New Year.
Focus on the Good and Complain Less
I had a friend once who would cut me off anytime she heard me say something bad about myself and say, “Hey! Don’t talk about my friend like that!” She argued that if someone else were saying that about me, she would say the same thing to them. Talking poorly about yourself leads you down a path that is hard to get out of. If you start to say bad things, you will eventually only think bad things. Instead, every time you say something bad about yourself, shift into saying two nice things. Your attitude to yourself truly does matter, so focus on improving your image of yourself.
Meet a New Friend
True friends are hard to find, and they take a lot of work, especially in the beginning. But making new friends allows you to experience new perspectives. Humans are social by nature, and getting to meet more people can broaden your social circle. Aim to make one new friend this year.
Spend Quiet Time in Prayer or Meditation
There is so much research that shows that praying or meditating for a short time each day can significantly improve your quality of life, lower stress levels, and make you feel less anxious. Connecting yourself to your beliefs makes you more sure in your identity, and you can move on with your day feeling more confident in yourself and your position in life.
Disconnect
Constantly filling your time and brain with social media can lead you to compare yourself to others, and comparing leads to despair. Taking a break from social media or your phone altogether will force you to invest more time in yourself and your interests. There are settings on most smartphones that let you set screen times and app limits. Or if that sounds too hard to begin with, maybe set times that you won’t be on your phone, like the first and last hour of the day that you are awake.
Learn Something New
Investing in your mind and its development is one of the hardest things to find time for. It takes a lot of work to develop new skills and practice them enough to become good at them, but it is worth it. Carving out time to try a new recipe, read a book, learn how to change a tire, and research the basics of gardening takes a lot of intentionality. But finding new hobbies and constantly learning new things gives your brain the mental stimulation it might otherwise be lacking. And it fills you up and satisfies your mental needs.
Overall
The new year can bring conflicting feelings, and sometimes we can take them out on ourselves. By investing time into developing ourselves to become better, we are loving ourselves better in all areas of our lives. Sure, spend this new year becoming a healthier version of yourself, but don’t forget that being healthy applies to more than your weight. Because we are more than our bodies and our weight!
