2014: Why the New You?

IT’S that time of year again where fridges are emptied, gyms are oversubscribed and wardrobes and lives are cleared of unnecessary clutter. Every January, we all pledge the same things, and proceed to achieve them with the hardiest of resolution.

It occurred to me this year however, how quick we all are to dismiss the previous year, and all that we have achieved.

Instead, we are ready to make new changes and constantly remind ourselves of our faults and mistakes that must be rectified if we are to succeed in the next year.

2013 was a brilliant year for me.

It saw me graduate, get a new job, make some amazing new friends and gain some great work experience, all of which I have been able to take with me into 2014 which is why I do not find myself all that eager to overlook 2013 and start with “a clean slate”.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that we all have areas of our life that we feel we can improve on whether it be to be fitter and healthier or to make more time for our friends and family and a new year does seem the perfect time to do it.

I can’t help but wonder though, of all the time we spend making plans for what we must change, how much of that time could be spent giving ourselves a pat on the back for what we have achieved so far?

This year, I decided not to make any huge declarations of change, accept to start one project, which is called project365.

The idea is to take one photo a day (or more) and track the whole year in pictures.

I decided to do this so that when January 1, 2015 comes along, I can look back over this year and remember something about every day.

I’m hoping too that this project will mean, as it has so far, that every day I feel pushed to do something photo-worthy.

In previous years, I have made all kinds of unrealistic and probably unnecessary resolutions.

There was 2008, when I vowed to give up chocolate completely, 2011 when I promised myself no sales shopping, and last year, when I set out to visit the gym for two hours every day.

You might think they sound perfectly reasonable resolutions, but if I had really thought about what I wanted and needed to change for the coming year, I would have realised these were not the right resolutions for me.

January is hard enough without the mountain of guilt that we feel when we inevitably slip off our resolution wagon, so this year, why not try something new.

Before you sit and think about the real changes you would like to make in 2014 — not just the ones your friends or the magazine you read are telling you to make — remember last year, and all you achieved, and maybe, you might not need to change as much as you think.