I have a real love / hate relationship with this time of year. On one hand, the blank canvas of the start of the new year and the pure exciting possibility of it all is wonderful. However the utter bullshit you get bombarded with left right and fucking centre that comes from diet companies and other approaches that basically make money by making us feel like shit for enjoying ourselves over Christmas can go and do one.

Yet…I sit here writing this feeling like shit. Not because I feel guilty about what I’ve eaten but because existing on alcohol, cheese and chocolate does not a happy body (or mind) make. I’ve been stuck in the house for three days straight because we’re potty training Finley and I literally can not wait to get back in the flow of regular life with the added kick up the arse the New Year brings. And yes I know no one was forcing me to drink and eat that stuff but seriously, it was SO good.

While I don’t need to be told that I need to become a ‘new’ version of myself to be worthy, there’s also nothing wrong with wanting to do better in 2018. Self development rocks whether that’s to do with your wellbeing, your career or your relationships – doing more of what will make you happy is never a bad thing.

The particular problem with this time of year is that our desire for a fresh start is hijacked in ways that play upon our insecurities and feelings of worthiness in the context of what we are told by society we should be changing about ourselves – i.e our weight and eating habits. It then goes on to make those issues worse by offering quick fix one size fits all ‘solutions’ that don’t work for most people. Then you feel like a failure when they don’t work for you – reminder – they are failing YOU, not the other way round!

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to eat better and move more, as I’ve said that is absolutely one of my intentions for 2018, and you know, let’s not be judgy here, if you want to head on down to Slimming World that’s totally your choice.

But…

This is just a reminder that there are other ways to feel good in 2018, to use that fresh start energy and to get some serious shit done next year that doesn’t require you being made to feel like you have to completely reinvent yourself.

My guess is that you’re pretty bloody wonderful as you are right now.

The way I choose to look at it is that it’s still the same me but with a few optional upgrades!

And here’s the thing – I work hard not to allow my self worth to become attached to those upgrades whether they happen or not, because remember, we’re all pretty wonderful as we are right now, right?

I’m going to blog more about my own intentions for 2018 soon, but for now if you’d like a way to gently reset for 2018 in a fun and totally non detoxy way then my Wholehearted Challenge might be for you. It’s a 7 day challenge that starts on Monday 8th January where we track some simple healthy habits and do 7 challenges all designed to increase our self care and self love. Join us for free below!

I’d love to know what your thoughts are on the whole New Year New You thing. How do you feel about this time of year?