2018 – the year of self-love and self-acceptance

My New Years Resolutions – being healthy and happy

All photos by Brian McCann Photography

In this blog post I discuss 2018 – the year of self-love and self-acceptance and how being yourself is the most important thing of all. 

New Year, new me and all of that. We’re already two weeks into 2018, meaning already failed attempts at kickstarting those unforgivable new year’s resolutions we continue to torture ourselves with. Like most of you, I’ve been trying to beat this dreaded flu since Christmas. That means any likelihood of sparking life into my distinguished fitness routine went down the sink with the last of the mulled wine (it is dry January after all).

Dry January, weight loss, fitness – giving up alcohol and tasty treats in return for enduring pain all in the name of becoming a better form of ourselves. In reality though, what was wrong with us pre new years countdown? We enter each new year with such negative perceptions of ourselves that it’s quite likely we’re setting up for a fall.

In January, a cold, dark month where we’re all broke and fed up after Christmas, we deprive ourselves of all the things we love. We even begin the year hungover which isn’t the ideal state to start cutting out the comfort. By mid-late January we’ve either caved and had all the drinks and all the food! This means we’ve given up the resolutions already or we haven’t even started and feel we probably never will. And so the cycle continues; the summer diets, the pre-Christmas diets until we ring in the next New Year repeatedly feeling terrible for not fulfilling last year’s promise to ourselves.

Again I must ask…what is wrong with you that you need to change so much? This is what I’m asking myself this year.

What is it I need to change, why do I need to change it and how am I going to do that! These are my 2018 resolutions.

1. Dry January

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I wanted to give dry January a go simply because I drank so much over Christmas I needed a detox. I wanted to start the year with a fresh mind which would, I hope, allow me make some great plans for 2018. As it’s happens, I’ve been so sick my head has been far too fuzzy to think straight. Two weeks in and still going strong, while not feeling the energetic buzz from the lack of alcohol, I am considering whether I’d even be that fussed to drink come February 1st. That will remain to be seen.

2. Lose weight

This is your standard resolution. I’m also your typical yo-yo; dieter losing weight and piling it back on just as quick. It’s also easy for me to blame chronic illness (I have fibromyalgia, under active thyroid and haemochromatosis) for my weight but it’s a cop out. I know that I can lose the weight but for the past three years I have been completely work focused and not health focused. So it’s a mind shift, this year I will focus on getting stronger, healthier and feeling better.

3. Love myself

This is an offshoot of point two. This year I want to accept and love myself as I am, no matter what the size. I’m going to dress in a way that feels fun, funky and free. I have an unusual style and I’m going to embrace it whether I’m a size 16 or size 10. I’m going to make a conscious effort to look after myself and feel happy in my own skin.

4. Less social media

By far the most difficult task is trying to switch off social media. However, the domino effect will be more time to exercise, less comparing myself to other and more self-love and more time to do other things of interest. Social media dominates my life and time and quite negatively so. The plus sides of social media of course being connected to others as living alone can be quite lonely. However, spending hours needlessly scrolling my numerous newsfeeds has become tiresome and to put it plainly, my head is wrecked. 2018 will be the year of switching off and living in the real world.

5. More arts, crafts and writing

Less of the above will mean more of what I love and what I have completely neglected. I have so many arts and crafts projects I want to explore. While I have been getting sucked into the digital world, I’ve completely forgotten where my heart lies and that is with writing. Never once have I felt ‘I’d love to be a social media specialist’ or ‘I want to be a master of all things digital’ Rather, I want to utilise digital to assist my real grá for writing.

2018 and beyond is all about balance, health and regaining control of my true self. It’s about being happy with myself and spending more time doing the thing I love. This year I’m learning to say a polite “no” to doing everything for every one while embracing “YES” to becoming everything I want to be.

What are your goals for 2018? Let me know in the comments

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