New Year... Better You

Happy New Year everyone! I think I'm still just about able to get away with saying that. I hope you had a fabulous Christmas and New Year, however you chose to spend it. I had a lovely, quiet time with my husband and parents, eating, drinking and doing very little exercise. It was perfect.

At Kew Gardens with the Mister

The lack of exercise wasn't by design. In the space of two months I've suffered with three separate couch and colds and was ordered to rest. I broke the rules a little by participating in an event we'd booked between Christmas and New Year but it was a lapped event and I bowed out after just one lap of 5km to collect my medal and spent the rest of the day on the sofa in my pyjamas. I'm just about on track now but I'm determined to look after myself better this year. Which brings me on nicely to the subject of New Year's Resolutions!

Costa Rican tree frog and MR & Mrs tree decorations

I still make resolutions but I also set goals for the year. These are two very different things to me. The goals are very concrete and tend to focus on the results I want from events I enter and the way I want to develop my business. They are specific, measurable and I can tick them off. An example of one of my goals: complete Brighton Marathon in under 4h30. The resolutions tend to be a bit more wooly and give me a direction but they are ongoing. Looking back I can see just how much stress I put my body through last year what with the events, wedding, stem cell and white cell donations. It's no wonder I got so ill in November and December. So my resolutions are all around self care. I will take more time for myself (reading, discovering new music, cooking new recipes, bubble baths), remove the phone from the bedroom overnight to help me sleep better, have regular massages and take my supplements. Perhaps I could substitute the word "resolutions" for "aspirations"... I aspire to be better.

I don't really like all the "new year, new you" stuff that gets bandied around at this time of year. I think the new year enthusiasm is fantastic but becoming a whole new you? That's just setting you up for a fall. And denying yourself in January doesn't sit right with me either. It's cold, dark and miserable for most of the month, we need cheering up, not deprivation! I'm not suggesting we continue with the holiday excesses but we can aspire to be better in small ways.

Do you still make resolutions? What about goals? Let's hear your aspirations for 2018!