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‘New Year, New You’ B.S. (Hear! Hear!)

January 1, 2019 by 26 Comments

And now for “27 ways to feel bad about yourself while the last piece of Christmas pudding you’ve ‘indulged’ in is still making its way through your intestinal tract…”

As the new year dawns, you’ll notice that without ANY space to breathe whatsoever, what was once a newsfeed saturated with sequins, pints and party platters becomes one bursting at the seams with resistance bands, Nutri Bullets and all manner of “New Year, New You” rhetoric. If that works for you, great. If it doesn’t, keep on reading…

If you find all of this relentless (and, at times, negative) then join the club. I’ve decided I’m over it. I’ve clicked the “unsubscribe” button and it’s incredibly liberating.”New Year, New You” regimes are framed in such a way that they seem motivating, uplifting and encouraging. The reality is they’re designed to sell gym members and juice cleanses at a time when they’re most marketable and we’re most vulnerable. The sheer volume and velocity of this kind of content coming at us from every angle — while we’re still polishing off the last of the mince pies — can make us feel as though we’ve already failed within the first few minutes of the new year.Add to the mix, the pressure of New Year’s resolutions — which suggest that regardless of our current situation, we have much to improve upon; that we need to be better. We’re encouraged to set out a new set of goals, towards which to move to in the hopes of finding what we all want: happiness. We’ve barely finished the last verse of Auld Lang Syne and already, we’re exhausted, defeated and riddled with festive guilt.But here’s a thought: instead of subscribing to what’s become a very tired narrative, this year, let January be yours. (Read Caroline Foran’s 6 tips for moving forward here.)

So, if you insist on resolving to do something, do this: go easy on yourself, be your own benchmark for success. And think about the kind of lifestyle you want to live. Happy New Year.

~ Caroline Foran, from “6 reasons I no longer subscribe to ‘New Year, New You’ BS” (Mashable, January 1, 2019). Caroline Foran is a journalist and a best-selling author of “Owning It: Your Bullshit Free Guide to Living With Anxiety” and “The Confidence Kit: Your Bullsh*t-Free Guide to Owning Your Fear“.

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Comments

  1. Ray V. says:
    January 1, 2019 at 9:44 am

    Yea, go easy on yourself. . . That’s what I’d do.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  2. Kiki says:
    January 1, 2019 at 10:25 am

    I’m only wondering why you need to post this! I thought we were all old and wise (and in my case, fat) enough to NOT care a bit what everybody wants to convey unto us…. I wouldn’t have thought you were subbed to NY NY blogs and newsletters encouraging you to buy (another?) juicer/gym membership/fitness gadget 😉 I ‘love’ myself just enough to not dispair seeing all this stuff, knowing that I’m SO over it – I enjoy every morsel I’ve eaten and shall eat, every drink of wine (I have those anyway, a glass a day keeps the doctor away….) and I take full responsibility for the state of my body. I just will NOT go near a doctor for a long time to come…. 🙂
    HAPPY NEW YEAR Dave and dear readers/comment providers – you really make my days – and I’m looking very much forward to many exchanges serious and not, funny & sad, over the next 364 days. THANK YOU, thank you, Thank You so much for all your wonderful input over the past time I enjoyed endlessly, dear unknown and yet so well known friend!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  3. Dale says:
    January 1, 2019 at 12:57 pm

    Hear! Hear! Down with resolutions designed to make you fail! Down with “New Year, New You”! Let us just learn to love ourselves, which doesn’t stop us from bettering ourselves but removes the pressure unnecessary!
    And we think DK is pretty fab!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. marlandphotos says:
    January 1, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    Happy New Year! How profound.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. 3bones says:
    January 1, 2019 at 1:54 pm

    Thanks for sharing this, David. I really enjoyed Carolyn Forman’s article. I finally realized after reading her piece that I can now put a name to the “temporal comparison” that I have practiced unknowingly this past year since settling into retirement. It took me the better part of 2018 and this article of hers to finally realize it, but I now know that I will continue to … “settle into my own lane, at my own pace, on my own route, taking into account all that is relative to me and me alone.” Thanks for this! And finally, after replying to your post, I have caught up on the reading of the WordPress blogs I follow …

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. cindy knoke says:
    January 1, 2019 at 2:02 pm

    Love this! Happiest & Healthiest New Year!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. Angeline M says:
    January 1, 2019 at 2:25 pm

    Oh yeah. I’ve refused to drink the New Year’s Day koolaid for awhile now. You can pass the wine though. HappyNew Year!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. misifusa says:
    January 1, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    Happiest of New Years David! So grateful for our connection!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Sawsan says:
    January 1, 2019 at 2:59 pm

    I never tasted the “new year’s resolution koolaid” in my life.
    Aries doesn’t function this way. When we’re tired of our own BS, that’s it, we’re done!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. ksbeth says:
    January 1, 2019 at 3:40 pm

    yes, own it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. wordsfromanneli says:
    January 1, 2019 at 4:51 pm

    Thanks for the support. I agree. No guilt this year. I’m not making resolutions. Well, not ones that I announce to the world. I’m just looking forward to new projects.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. Valerie Meluskey says:
    January 2, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    Oh Dear, Caroline Foran…couldn’t read the article, but clicked on the 6 something-or-others. Yikes! What happened to learning to live in the moment? With all that other noise going on about other people’s lives and possible evaluations, being sane would be challenging.
    Appreciating “now” is not possible when going into judgment and self-judgment. I send deep wishes to Caroline and DK and all readers of Live and Learn for more enjoyment of present moments…and the holy instants. [yes, thisis hard work at times–takes vigilance…but the result can be a sense of humor and peace]

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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