How To Make A New Years Resolution You Will Keep.

First and foremost I want to say happy holidays this week. Spend time with loved ones if you can, and if you aren’t able to be with the people who matter to you, then make sure they know they matter in some way or another. This is the season when we all need to give and receive as much love and care as possible.

The holidays can be a hard time for a lot of people. If you’re struggling this season as so many people are, please reach out to someone. It could be a friend, a practitioner, family, a shelter, or hotline. Ask for help if you need it – you will be surprised at how much help is available.

This year is coming to a close and that brings with it a measure of self reflection and the almost inevitable decision to make some changes. For many of us those changes will come in the form of a New Years Resolution, and this year I’m proposing something a little bit different. Here’s why.

2021 has been a tough year. Partly, because it followed 2020, which was also a tough year. Never-ending the global pandemic, many of us have faced some pretty extreme changes to the way we chose to live, the way we socialize, the way we work, the work we do, and our perceived level of freedom. I want to take a minute to acknowledge how much stress we as a collective are actually under and to honor that.

With MTHFR, it is wise to buffer ourselves from stressors like this one, and for many of us, this pandemic has worsened anxiety, increased depression, or deepened or reactivated addictions. Not only that, there is evidence that Covid affects people with MTHFR who have high levels of homocysteine more strongly than it does other folks. I want you to take just a second, take a deep breath, and say something profound. I want you to look in the mirror, right into your own eyes, and say three simple words. “I love you.”

For some of you, that will be kind of awkward or odd, for some it will trigger a smile and for some it will trigger tears. No matter what happens, this is a powerful thing you can do for yourself in only a second and it matters this year.

Now, back to the issue of New Years Resolutions.

I honestly feel that precisely zero people need more stress or striving right now. What we need is more joy, so I’m proposing a different kind of resolution this year – one you might actually keep beyond January 3rd. Here’s how to do it.

1. Write a list of things that make you happy that you don’t take the time to do right now.  It could be big things (like travel or vacation or family camping trips) or little things (sketching, hiking, or having fresh flowers in the house). Think of at least 20 things.
2. Take out the ones that are impossible  for some reason (costs too much, borders are closed, have to stay close to home to take care of elderly parents, etc..)  
3. Make sure there are at least ten good things on your list and if there aren’t, repeat steps one and two until you’ve got ten or more
4. Make your resolution, just like the big bold one below.

How’s that for a resolution you can keep?!?

We all need a little more happy and a little more ease right now and putting pressure on yourself, guilting yourself, or being hard on yourself, or setting yourself up for failure isn’t going to help anybody – especially not you.

This year, make a resolution that will make your life better.

Happy New Year, Everybody! Love, Amy.