What I have chosen to do instead of a New Years resolution

In the last few years I've gone for a New Years word rather than a New Years resolution. The idea is that by choosing a guiding word to represent the coming year you incorporate the principles more to your everyday life. By having a guiding principle rather than a distinct rule it should help you focus on your lifestyle as a whole and if you do stray, it is easier to get back on track.

I quite like the idea of choosing a word to represent what you want your year to bring. It may be because I have never been particularly great with New Years resolutions. The only one I've managed to keep was to floss my teeth every night. 

So for 2017 my word is "me". 

I've always been a bit of a work horse. I want to do and achieve as much as possible and sometimes it gets in the way of just being me. It is far too easy to think "I'll just do that one more thing" when the best thing for my own health and sanity might just be to drop it and go drink a nice hot cup of tea. Or wine. Or do whatever relaxing and enjoyable. Maybe go for a walk. Do yoga. Knit. Whatever.

They say you cant take care of others unless you first take care of yourself. Putting myself and my needs first and not always thinking I need to do one more thing to meet whatever expectation I've set myself is needed if I don't want to be the cranky tired woman I tend to be way too often. Relaxing, finding that me time, is important. And that will make me better for us as a family. 

There are some things I miss from my old, pre-child, pre-husband life. I miss just reading. Jumping underneath the covers and reading in bed. Enjoying the quiet and letting my head get filled with another world. I miss playing the violin. I miss going for aimless walks and bike rides, although, lets face it, I'm not planning on starting to ride a bike in London anytime soon. Too dangerous for my liking. 

So yes, my word for 2017 is me and that means more me-time, focusing on my interests and my health. And to do that somethings gotta give. Not sure what yet. As far as blogging goes, it is an important interest of mine, but perhaps I could do it smarter, leaving me more time to be me, for us. 

You may also wonder how I've done in the last few years with my New Years words. Well, I suppose they haven't been quite as quickly forgotten as my New Years resolutions, but they could have been thought about more too. For 2015 my word was well-being and honestly speaking, I did do some good stuff such as starting regular yoga practice. For 2016 my word was "space" and while I did not manage to declutter anything, I did clear some unnecessary clutter from personal obligations and have been quite disciplined about not adding to them. I say no a lot more now.

Do you have a New Years resolution or a guiding word?

You might also like: Choosing a New Years resolution - my "word" for 2016, My 2015: Well-being  and My 2015: Well-being - Fallback February

Follow: Bloglovin / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram