New Year, New You

The holidays are moving fast and by the time Christmas rolls around you’ll be wondering how to make the New Year less stressful than the one you just came out of. You’ll be budgeting and planning and running in circles trying to keep everyone else happy and somehow forget about your own happiness.

But you have kids, a husband, bills to pay, a life to control, and several other excuses that stop you from being truly happy as the year comes and goes.

New Year’s Resolution… Does anyone actually stick to this?

Yes, it sounds great when you see it on TV. When the ball drops and you and all your friends shout and toast and kiss. It sounds ideal; You wake up on Monday and start working out, start eating healthy, start doing whatever it was you were supposed to do last year and three years before that. But those jeans still don’t fit the way they used to…

Scratch that! Stop doing what you’ve been doing because it’s not working!

New Year New Way… Start by finding out who you ARE. You have grown, changed, matured.

Google a personality test and take the time to answer the questions honestly. Find out who you have become since high school, college, or working at the same place for five years. Read the description of what your personality is and divide your results into four categories. Take this serious because it will help you find out just what you want.

Category 1: What makes you YOU – What do you love about yourself.

Category 2: What do you think other people love about you?

Category 3: What do other people love about you; that bothers you to some degree

Category 4: What do you dislike about yourself? What do you do that you wish you’d stop doing? (procrastination, angered easily, disorganized, etc.)

Once you’ve done this… yes I know it’s A LOT of questions. Do it again. – Don’t answer for how you currently do things, answer for who you want to be. Focus on those areas you’ve highlighted to change. Focus on the parts of your personality you love and the ones you find annoying.

The answers that will change are from category 3 and 4. Stop doing what makes you uncomfortable for other’s satisfaction (Do they go out of their way for you?). You should never have to feel uncomfortable in your skin, doing what others want you to do.

Once you finish make some kind of personal display to remind you that EVERYTHING is a choice. The life you have now is based on choices you’ve made. If you are letting someone else make decisions about your life, that’s a choice you made for not saying how you feel. If you are very outspoken and feel like you are too selfish at times, it’s a choice to let your managerial skills define every relationship.

Think about these questions that could define who you want to be:

What time do you wake up / What time you want to wake up?

What do you spend your money on / What you want to spend your money on?

Do you save money or spend it?

Do you have the career you want or are you looking for something new?

Does your relationship fulfill all of your wants and needs?

Do you feel conflict with people who you consider family?

If you can, ask more questions that are important in your life. Focus on the things that make you feel uncomfortable and find the reasons why. Once you know why, you’ll know how to change it.

All of these can be simple or easy. Certain activities and responsibilities take precedence over others, but it doesn’t always have to. Sometimes you can splurge. Just make sure that when you do, it’s right for the place you want to get to.

Make choices in your life that make you happy. Make decisions based on where you want to go and who you want to be. Don’t let people take your time if they don’t give you a good vibe.

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