As we approach the second month of the New Year, I’m in no doubt that there are many people cursing themselves for breaking the New Year’s resolutions they swore on the 1st of January they would not break. I raise my hand in guilt for this- because I’ve already fallen of the resolution bang wagon. A lot. The way in which we beat ourselves up for breaking our resolutions got me thinking about the benefits of breaking them. Yes, I was clutching at straws to try and make myself feel better about the eighth chocolate biscuit that I clearly had to have, but then I stumbled across a convenient truth.
As human beings- we are extremely and beautifully flawed. There is no such thing as a perfect human, and mistakes only help us to grow and keep us grounded. Humans are chaotic and passionate and often foolish; and there is absolutely no shame in any of that.
I think we often lose sight of this on a quest for perfection in every aspect of our lives; at work, in our relationships, in our health- but chastising ourselves for breaking a few little resolutions won’t help us to get anywhere, and the stress we then put on ourselves to not slip up again will only serve to see us break them more often in the future. Aren’t New Year’s resolutions supposed to be fun? Aren’t they supposed to be filled with motivation, hope and the exciting prospect of a new year with new challenges? When we suck the fun out of New Year’s resolutions with too much pressure, we ultimately set ourselves up to fail; the resolutions we made cease to be positive and potentially life changing, and become ominous tasks or changes that we dread.
So, if you couldn’t resist that piece of cake, if you have yet to buy a diary and become more organised, or if you still haven’t finished that essay- don’t beat yourself up. Don’t resent yourself. Learn from the little mistakes that make you human. What ever your resolution is- do not loathe yourself for breaking it.
Start again fresh tomorrow and know that every step towards your goals count, no matter how big or small.