The Only Resolution You Should Have

As we enter a new year, there are so many boxes that many of us want to check off our list before this year ends. Many to do’s, wants, goals and desires as we feel the fresh beginning of this new year.

I, like many of you love the freshness of a new start. I love a new journal, a new agenda, an opportunity to begin anew. I love the promises of a fresh start and I have found that I often sit and think about what I want to accomplish before this year ends.

Upon reflection over the past few days, I was thoughtful around the goals I hear from clients and students. The goals I often reset for myself each year. This year I decided I wanted to take a more holistic approach for myself. A holistic approach means focusing less on a specific goal or personal accomplishment and more on showing up well, being well, feeling well.

A holistic approach means focusing less on a specific goal or personal accomplishment and more on showing up well, being well, feeling well

As we navigate a world in chaos and fear, there is hope in rest, self-care and caring for others. Fear removes connection and forces us to make choices that are not truly reflective of who we are. This new year and new beginning and an opportunity to start fresh and I have decided my fresh start and focus for this year will be in a holistic approach to self-care.

Let me share a little about what that is going to look like for me. I hope to inspire you to consider what would make a difference in your world. Many of us desire more money, more success, more experiences. I am one of those people who set health, wealth, and success goals every year. Although I reach many of these goals, I also live with the feeling of continually desiring what is just outside my reach. This often leaves room for self-condemnation, guilt, and critical thinking. 

As we navigate a world in chaos and fear, there is hope in rest, self-care and caring for others.

Holistic self-care focuses on loving myself. Resting when I need rest. Eating foods that nourish my body. Including spiritual practices that enlighten and connect me. Time spent with friends, being present, enjoying time with family. It includes time spent outdoors and offline. It avoids negativity from the media and focuses on compassion for others. It means making the best out of what I have and being open to what could show up. It removes being self-critical. It removes things that feel outside my reach. It focuses on gratitude and being present.

As you are beginning your new year, I want to encourage you to consider all that God has blessed you with. I want to encourage you to think about how you can simply be a happier, healthier more present you. How you can love more, rest more, and take better care of you? 

I want to encourage you to live with more gratitude and compassion in 2022. To unplug from anything that removes joy from your life. A better world starts with a better us. We can accomplish a great deal this year. Many of us will. But what is it worth if we are more unwell, more stressed, and more disconnected by the end of this year?

A new year is an opportunity to be well. To eliminate what is no longer serving us, and to focus on gentle changes that bring us more happiness, help us be present and by the end of the year, help us live in a happier, healthier body.

A better world starts with a better us.

Yours in good health

Alisa Herriman RNCP ROHP CHCP