“When we spend hours a day looking at other peoples highlight reel, we auto-compare and its not healthy. Social media needs to be a place of encouragement and community rather than comparison.“
Article by Alexandria Zimmerman, Ask Zimm
Wellness calls for a lot of reflection and adaptation as you grow into yourself. I've become more tunnel vision and goal-oriented in recent years, so that the new year is just a continuation of my goals and self-set timeline. But, its still a time where I welcome a check-myself mentality to see where I can improve. Call it a personal performance review! The point of this article is to argue that these "performance reviews" and "check ya self" moments should be regardless of time trends and fully self-set based on your own calendar--not everyone else's.
As my mom would say, new years is just another day. Sure, we should welcome positivity and good habits. But this is a time to remind ourselves that habits should not be dependent on the season or the holiday, they should be revolving around your life goals so that you can be held accountable regardless of the season. A few things come to mind when I think of the new year and my goals, which have no temporal alignment with the new year/ holidays.
1. Success is dependent on grit. Of course we feel extra-motivation at the new year because of the tradition to re-start. Why do we fall off of these "resolutions" so quickly? Maybe because its not self-motivation that drives these goals, but it is external motivators that push you to do things you weren't doing last month. Call on yourself to find internal motivation that translates to discipline. In late March, April or May when you feel like your goals that you set back in January are getting tarnished and you're fatigued, that is when your back-up engines of discipline and grit kick in. For that reason, your goals should not be set based on January and February as new months, but should revolve around specific deadlines that exist for your own success.
3. Do what you say you're going to do. Hold yourself accountable! I struggle so much with this one, because I say I am going to do basically everything, and sometimes don't set a game plan. Then it turns into nothing but ideas. Recently, I've become more aware of this even on a minute scale. I learned part of this from my brother, who (when it comes to his athletic and nutrition goals) will do exactly what he says he will do. This is a widely applicable practice that I think will help move me towards my goals in every area.
2. Comparison is the thief of growth. And happiness. When I was with my family over the holidays, I spent less time on my phone and more time doing things. It cultivates gratitude and maximizes your fulfillment. It makes me sad that being present has to be a conscious act today and it's something I am going to work hard to improve. When we spend hours a day looking at other peoples highlight reel, we auto-compare and its not healthy. Social media needs to be a place of encouragement and community rather than comparison.
These are some of my reflection thoughts but there are so many more. lol. Let me know what type of things you all are thinking for your month's goals!