Hello New Year, please be kind!

I hope you had a lovely festive break and ready to ease back into your routine.

It has been pretty hard to get up in the morning this week. We are so used to having lazy mornings and lots of sleep in the Christmas break. The dark and cold mornings don’t really help, which made me wonder about a few things…

The New Year brings a spark of magic of “anything possible”. This is when people pledge to start a new diet, start exercising, form a new healthy habit. Have you been there before? Have you made any resolutions this year?

I love making plans and dare to dream. However, I refuse to fit this around a specific date due to external pressure and expectation. I don’t argue with the fact that it is easier to get started when there are other people doing the same. So maybe picking an accountability partner is not a bad idea at all?! This worked for me in the past and I often recommend it to my clients to do the same. It is especially helpful when you are trying to form a new habit. You can start any day, no need to wait for the next New Year to come!

Back to my struggles of getting out of bed… the fresh New Year and all the promises it can bring would suggest that I should spring out of bed every morning with the biggest smile, ready for the day and take over the world, right?! Right?! Well, not exactly. The season of winter, the cold and dark morning are there for a reason and we should honour our bodies being attuned with this. This is the time when you can have cosy evenings in front of the fire, long conversations with your loved ones and share nourishing dishes. This is the season when you might have to put some happy morning music on to help you get out of bed and allow a few minutes extra for morning cuddles. Maybe just accepting this will help being kinder to yourself without pushing very hard to go against nature?!

This year started in a very different way for me. Last January I went back to the office after the Christmas break and handed my notice in after nearly 15 years of working for DLA Piper. It was the biggest relief, setting myself free and allowing to focus on my dream business and to spend more quality time with my family. It wasn’t a New Year’s Resolution, it was my birthday present to myself. Being born on New Year’s Eve does have some benefits after all ! 🙂

This December I spent a lot of time looking back at the year and reflecting on what I have achieved, how far I have come. This exercise is very empowering, especially if you do it in writing.  It helped me plan the year in a very different way. I figured, if I wanted to run my own business and make it as successful as I can, I needed to “meet myself” and get to know this new me more. The dreams I had a year ago have slightly changed, some plans matured, some been put on the back burner and some got binned. I am still working on my plan for the year and trying not to look too closely at everyone else’s social media who all seem to have figured it out.

What can you do for a successful and nourishing start?

I guess, what I am saying is that it is ok not to have a plan for 2024 yet! It is ok to struggle to get out of bed and not to feel super refreshed after a long Christmas break with the kids. You can start the year slowly, honour your own rhythm and allow yourself to change things that no longer work. This doesn’t mean to give up or not even try, just go with your own flow and speed. Remember, new habits will only stick if these come with the right intentions, energy and you have specified your why. Perhaps instead of writing goals without context, dig a bit deeper and sit with yourself. This will likely take you further and not just become a tick box exercise.

• Where are you today? How do you feel energy wise?
• Where do you want to go in 2024?
• Who you want to be this year?
• What are the things you need to do to achieve these dreams?
• Can you split these down to smaller chunks?
• Who can help you achieve these? Can you pick an accountability partner?
• Can you set a small step that you can start working on today?

And if you need help with any of this, my doors are open! Use the Contact form to email me with your questions and to explore working with me on your health!

Have a cosy week!

Viki