New Year, New Me
Hey there, it’s your body here. Before you say, “New Year, New Me,” I want you to think about
your 2020 self for a minute. As your body I want you to know that I’m proud of you. We know
that sometimes your brain can get in the way (and that 2020 has turned her up a notch) but we
are happy that you also listened to us when that Chatty Cathy upstairs wouldn’t shut up. While
your brain was running a mile a minute, we took a backseat... and we’re aware that as this year
comes to an end, so does our little joy ride. We know that there’s some guilt setting in about
how much banana bread we consumed, but we’re here to tell you that you deserved those
extra slices. Because banana bread can be a good source of protein, and in order to do all of those at-home workouts, you needed all the protein possible.
Every year you feel like we need to do something to change us, and you forget that we have been constantly changing for the past 365 days; we deserve a break, dang it! Even if we’re not
exactly where we wanted to be, please remember that “eight packs” will come and go but the
holidays are only once a year. Yes, that slice of banana bread eventually turned into pumpkin
pie, and from pie into gingerbread cookies, but that’s because we saw how this year was taking
a toll on you and we thought you could use the extra love. We’re always looking out for you but the funny thing is, you don’t see it; we love you just the way you are but you can always find
something wrong with us. It’s the year of the matching sweatsuits, so what if you are no longer
a size 4 and are now a 6, elastic is back, baby! Don’t put a negative stigma on those extra
pounds or where the weight has been distributed to. You went to the gym less this year but did
yoga more, you went on many more hikes, and you got outside for some mind-clearing fresh air more than ever before. You did things that were good for your soul and that feels better than a pair of jeans ever will. We want you to stop focusing on changing our alterations measurements and focus on the internal growth that you finally made room for.
Instead of going into 2021 trying to get that banging bod for the first, hot social gathering of
the new year, continue to get that mind right for that first non-mask enforced boppin’ party. Jump
into the new year with affirmations that are personalized just for you, to keep you on track with your continued growth from 2020.
It’s proven that affirmations are best made in the morning, in the first few moments of
consciousness, before the day hits you. Every day is a new day, and in preparation can we catch Chatty Cathy before she gets that morning cup of coffee in her, and feed her affirmations
instead, please? They’re the new breakfast of champions in 2021. Put that worry wart to ease
early and see if it helps adding this to your routine. For even more benefit, try repeating your affirmations before you go to bed. Prior to you powering down from your day, no matter how big or small the day may have been, take a few moments to yourself to remind you that YOU did it.
Here are some short affirmations to try - write them on the mirror in your bathroom, type in the notes of your phone - just a few suggestions to get you started:
- I am doing my best
- I am proud of myself
- I choose to be happy today
- I am smart and powerful
- I will be kind to myself and others today
- Things are always working out for me
Here are some other mood-boosting actions to incorporate into your daily routine:
- When walking by a mirror, fall in love with a new angle of your body
- Allow yourself to feel love from another in the form of a smile or “smize” (a smile using one’s eyes instead of mouth,) since we’ll most likely be wearing a mask
- Be courageous enough to stand a little taller than you did the day before
- The joy you feel is deserved, allow yourself to feel as full as possible
- New doesn’t have to be scary, it brings growth!
As exciting as seeing physical change can be, you aren’t physically better off if you aren’t also
there mentally. Cathy can be a lot of talk and that’s why you have us… Yes, still your body
speaking here and no, we don’t have a name. Do you know what kind of names go with gut?
Some may call us a conscious of sorts though, usually we’re less vocal but that doesn’t mean
we’re not talking to you. Hasn’t anyone ever told you to “listen to your body?”
The day you start listening to us, you’ll see more change than a gym can show you, we promise.
You’re not in this alone. Maybe throw that into your list of affirmations! Every year we see you
come up with these goals - sometimes they’re a little overzealous, we’ll admit - but we see how
badly you want them. You want these so-called “goals” though because at that moment in your
life, you truly believed that by altering whatever it may have been, it would change your life for
the better. For us, your body, it’s a fun game we get to play when we get to see which goals
stick -- and which ones fall off before spring has sprung. Then comes fall and you’re feeling
nostalgic and when looking back, you are pretty happy that not everything you intended on
doing at the beginning of the year ended up panning out, right?
Going into 2021 can we all agree to simply be nicer to ourselves? Instead of trying to recreate
us, why don’t we take the version we’re proud of from this year and show them off? Because if
there ever was a time to be proud of yourself, it’s now.
-Your Body