Say Goodbye to New Year Resolutions and Hello to Real Change
As we enter the new year, the leading story on every media outlet and social media post is centered on “new year’s resolutions.” Resolutions are a way for people to feel as though they are setting a goal. It gives them a start date, but more importantly, it gives the diet and other “self-improvement” industries an incredibly profitable opportunity.
“Every year, losing weight tops the list of resolutions in America,” said Kirsten Haglund, national eating disorders awareness advocate, Miss America 2008, and community relations specialist for Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center. “We need to recognize that we don’t have to wait for a certain date in order to commit to health, well-being, greater self-compassion, better relationships, or other worthwhile goals. We can recognize and reject New Year’s resolutions as the purely moneymaking strategies they are, especially when it comes to products promising miraculous weight loss, cleansing from toxins, or other transformations.”
Real change takes time and practice. Resolving to change or better oneself is a process that requires patience. For those in recovery from an eating disorder or addiction, gearing up to make a New Year’s resolution and the pressure to stick with it can be a setup for a setback. Recovery is a process that began before the first of the year and will continue long after it.
Haglund suggests we replace the word “resolution,” with three other “R” words as we enter the new year.
1. Recommit: Ask yourself what your values are, especially the new ones you’ve discovered in recovery. Think about how you can recommit to them in the new year. This decision is less about doing or not-doing. Instead, it involves a process of asking questions, discovering deeper truths and practicing self-compassion.
2. Restore: After recommitting to your values (or the process of discovering them), ask yourself what you can do to practice restoration and healing. How can you restore your relationship with yourself, your body, with food or exercise, with your family or friends?
3. Rejoice: Finally, ask yourself, what do I have to be grateful for? As you think of these things, rejoice! Smile, dance for joy, share your laughter with a friend, delight in your abundance. Making gratitude a daily practice helps open our eyes to the progress we have made, even when it is slower than we’d like it to be. It helps to give us the right perspective on our struggles.
“When we recommit, restore, and rejoice, we can keep the progress of recovery going, and build a lifelong foundation for freedom that is independent of the date on the calendar,” adds Haglund.