Deprivation Motivation

Aaah, the parties are over, the food and drink consumed, the presents unwrapped, the credit card bill has arrived and the New Year’s Resolutions have been decided (and for a staggeringly high proportion of us, already broken!). Now, let me just say, if resolutions work for you then fair play to you…you can ignore this article and come back next week. However, NYR’s don’t work for a lot of people. In fact, the year(s) I actually gave up smoking were those years I DIDN’T set a resolution to do so.

I don’t think I have ever kept even one of them. And I’m not alone in this. And here’s where I go into rant mode…It’s largely because they are all about deprivation. Stop smoking, drinking, eating, having fun, spending money, enjoying yourself, having a life. Bah humbug. Coming hot on the heels of the party season it is no wonder that they’re difficult to keep to! You’ve just got used to partying, having fun, enjoying yourself…and then BANG! Austerity bites.

No more fun for you. Aaaaaaaargh. Not only that, in my opinion January is the WORST month to deprive yourself. Well, in cold countries like the UK anyway. If I was going to set resolutions – I would probably want to give up junk food and get out in the fresh air every day. Trouble with that is, it’s cold. I need a layer of fat to keep me warm. I don’t want to go out in the fresh air because my face freezes off or it’s p’ing down with rain. It’s a recipe for disaster!

This does not mean that I am going to sit festering indoors eating chocolate and crisps. (appealing as that sounds!) I am just not going to try to ‘make’ myself do things I don’t want to do and deprive myself of things I enjoy. Imagine if you trained a dog that way – with insults about being a fat, lazy beggar and replacing its lovely meaty dinners with a lettuce leaf. It’d bite your backside, and rightly so!

Animal trainers know that kindness works far better than cruelty. Think about it. Are your resolutions (or goals for the year) about being good to yourself and enjoying your life or punishing yourself for being rubbish in some way? Are they what you would love to do this year or what you think you should do? Are they inspiring or motivating (in a ‘gun to your head’ way)? Are you going to stick to them? Really?

If they haven’t worked for the last 10 years, why not try something new this year – ask yourself what you would really love to happen this year…and ENJOY the journey of achieving the things you want. (or enjoy the cream cakes that got in the way…whatever!) Have yourself a HAPPY new year – make this the year you treat yourself with kindness and love, and make it more important than anything to feel good (because this works!), and watch your life change for the better.

– Something to Play With –

Throw away your New Year’s Resolutions and start a new list ‘What I’d love to do this year’. Start working on your list right away and give yourself the best chance of getting to December and saying ‘this was the best year EVER’!