I’m making more time for me in 2023! It’s not a new year’s resolution but my new way of thinking.
I have made lots of new year resolutions in the past, most lasting a few days with one even making it to three weeks. When people asked at Christmas, I felt I should have one or more and came out with a list of things, but never managed to keep any of them. I’ve tried fad diets, counted points and tried red and green days but they don’t last and didn’t change my way of thinking. The thing that was always top of the list-give up chocolate. I am a self-confessed chocoholic.
In my family Christmas and Birthday presents always have a chocolate theme.
If it involves chocolate I am there! Each time I have said I was giving up chocolate the result was the same. I wouldn’t stick to it and ended up binging, feeling guilty, and useless. I didn’t really want to give up chocolate it just seemed the right thing to do.
Being part of the Engagement team at One You East Sussex, has been refreshing, enabling me to see things a little differently. I now have a much better understanding of the steps and motivation needed for behaviour change. I need to think about WHAT I want to change and the WHY (the impact it will have on my life). If it doesn’t have an impact on my life or isn’t important to me it’s unlikely that the behaviour will change. Once I have worked out the WHAT and WHY I need to see if I am just thinking about it or ready to do something about it.
So, this year I am doing things differently. Firstly, I haven’t made any resolutions.
Secondly, I am going to think about my WHAT and WHY – what I want to change and difference it will make to me. I am not rushing into this or do it by a deadline as life doesn’t always happen as you think. Once I understand my WHAT and WHY I can work out the how.
Gloji has helped me think about my wider health and my WHAT and WHY. It looks at five pillars of health (Nutrition, Movement, Alcohol, Mind and Sleep) which all impact one another. So, a change in one should impact another. My chocolate consumption has led to a poor sugar rich diet, lack of energy, poor concentration, sleep and mood changes. Hopefully, by reducing it (not giving up) I will feel a difference. It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing approach. If I can understand the impact of too much chocolate on me, how it affects my nutrition, energy, sleep and mood it will motivate me to make a series of small changes.
Other WHAT and WHY’s are a work in progress as small changes are more realistic and achievable. I need to be in the right frame of mind to start with. My right time began before Christmas. Last year was a blur balancing lots of plates, running from pillar to post and not achieving the things I had planned. My time out in December got me starting to think about things. The change of scene added weight to things. Having time to think in a relaxing environment helped me start identifying my WHAT and WHY.
My gran used to say Rome wasn’t built in a day, so I am going to take my time to get things right for me. It’s not going to be a quick fix but a long-term change. I have started quietly and it’s going okay so far.
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