What's your new years resolution?

[white knight]

Some years ago I made a resolution for New Year that was rather simple but very effective and achievable.

My plan was to get the best balance of medication, therapy, family harmony and sleeping pattern that I could possibly achieve. I began with a visit to my GP which resulted in a sleep study and that led to the discovery of mild to moderate sleep apnea. I've used a CPAP air pump ever since and that has changed my moods for the better along with a reduction in melancholy periods.

Family harmony was achieved with the removal of a close relative that proved destructive my whole life, boy, have I been far less stressed!.

I'm always working on balance but approaching new year it's an opportunity to reflect on the year that's passing to fine tune my life.

So my new years resolution is- more caravanning and reading up on mental health conditions that will assist my knowledge.

What's your new years resolution?

TonyWK

[Wanderlust123]

Hi all,

Thank you for sharing your New Years resolutions, it was nice to read your goals 🙂

I have always enjoyed this time to reflect on myself and my life and use the new year to set new goals and aspire to be my best. However, this year I am not feeling the same inspiration with the new year.

This year has been challenging for everybody, and I have personally found the past couple of months especially confronting as I began to realise the COVID-19 situation would carry over to the new year and this feeling of being trapped in this madness would continue. I think I first started feeling this way when I started to get assigned tasks at work to be completed within the first few months of next year; I kept thinking to myself 'when will this end and I get a break?!'. I am on holidays this week during Christmas and New Year but it doesn't feel like enough time to relax and help better my mental health which has been a problem lately.

Therefore, along with feelings of being trapped and dealing with a harsh inner critic which I cannot tame, I am lacking motivation for making new years resolutions. I realise having some goals to focus on will help, so I am open to suggestions.

Thanks for listening.

[Elizabeth CP]

I use the new year as a stock take. I have typed a document with my goals for the year which I can then review and adapt at the end of each year.

Along with each goal I specify why this goal is important to me. For example one goal is to spend 4 hours a week on housework. The aim is to keep my house tidy so I can find things easily (Wasting time looking for things is EXTREMELY frustrating for me so this is really important) and so the house feels pleasant to be in. The limited time frame stops me spending too much time trying to get everything perfect and then not having time for other things. This goal works for me so I will keep it for 2021. Since I'm in the habit of doing it it makes it easy to achieve this goal.

For me the review is about looking at the goals for 2020 and deciding how you have gone. Is it something which is helpful in which case it can be continued. If is is no longer relevant or has been finished delete it for next year. Are there things which you haven't achieved but are still relevant? Think about why you haven't succeeded and then what can you do to refocus so you can succeed.

For me there were a few things I discussed with my psych last year but the events of 2020 made it too hard to follow the advice. These are still really impacting my MH & life negatively so I need to refocus and follow through in 2021. Recognising they are challenging for me is important because I know I have to allow myself the time and mental space to do these things. expecting myself to do it easily and beating myself up about it won't help. One thing I need to do is get some respite from my carer role. My psych has been encouraging this for years but it has become more crucial now because I have become so stressed and tired. My low mood has affected my ability to care for my husband properly so I do need a break. My difficulty is guilt about spending money on myself so I can go away and I will have to deal with negative thoughts while on my own so it not easy.

New year resolutions or goals need to be based on your needs not just societies expectations. Being realistic about the effort required is important. Knowing why you have chosen a goal is essential to give the motivation to succeed.

[Gambit87]

Hey everyone!

I was watching Soul (a disney/pixar film) recently and without going to much away, at the end the movie the main character was asked how he was going to live his life and his response was - 'I’m not sure, but I do know I’m gonna live every minute of it'. That really hit me in the heart strings haha.

Well for me, 2020 has been a roller coaster of emotion and growth! I started off having a breakdown but I finally acknowledged I needed help and started working/focusing on myself. I felt like as the months went by (and with the help of my partner, family, friends and my psychologist) I have been feeling much better with myself and have a more positive outlook on life. I've been working on adding more balance to my life.

my resolution would be to keep building on this and do more living in 2021.

I do have 3 goals though

- complete the tafe course I enrolled in

- Ask my girlfriend to marry me

- take in life more.

[Jstar49]

Hi all,

Gambit I love your NY resolutions! Probably becos I'm a bit of a romantic 🙂 Finishing study is also good.

I have a NY reso for my partner- does that count ?LOL! Joking, but am pleased that his Dr has suggested exercise and diet changes, so I shall go along with that. So much easier when we do it all together!

Other than that I don't really make NY resolutions. It seems to easy to break them. Like getting a puppy for Christmas. Glad if they work for others tho,

Cheers,

J*

[Elithia]

Dear Wanderlust123,
Thanks so much for your insightful and honest post. I could totally relate, both to the feeling of being trapped and the feeling of not having time to recharge before the next round of work expectations.

I don't usually set NY resolutions but I do choose intentions - usually just a short phrase or a couple of words to evoke a state or a dream or a goal.

But this year, I feel I need
to keep things small. So my resolution or intention is simply to learn how to breathe with my belly, not my chest. It's a humble goal but it's the one thing I figured would be under my control, and which would deliver some self-care and gentleness.

Wishing you a very happy and safe new year 🙂