The Anti New Years Resolution

We're all very hard on ourselves aren't we! Every magazine and health supplement I pick up is shouting the virtues of detox's, diets and drastic fitness regimes. It's the annual 'let's all hate ourselves' time of year.

And I'm not unsusceptible to it myself; every year as the date rolls to the 1st of January I automatically fill my mind with new plans and ideas for basically re-modelling myself. 'This year I'll be a better Mum, a better partner/daughter/sister/friend. I'll work harder at even more business ideas, I'll get that Cindy Crawford body, I'll eat fish every second night, I'll turn off the telly and teach Lu how to do her long division before she can even talk properly...'

All of these notions are doing nothing but giving me the message that I don't really like myself very much as I am and that I'm not doing a good enough job.

So this year I am going to give myself a break. I am still going to be mindful of living well and healthily but aren't these normal processes that we live by all year anyway? Not something to enforce as punishment when it's still wintery and you feel least like going for lengthy walks and doing improving activities...

So I am going to go at my own pace thank you very much. And I will reach (some) of my goals eventually as I walk though the year. And for now, I am going to see how far we've come - we got through Christmas and three sets of flu, we got through a pretty awful 2010 with it's financial stresses and worries about the health of family and we are managing to breathe new life into our careers after the recession took it's swipe and we're not doing too bloody badly overall.

So instead of denying myself little pleasures, this year my resolution is to take them where I can. So I'm putting on the kettle and I'm going to open that box of chocolates and read the book that is still under our tree (yes it's still up!) and tonight I may have some wine even though it's only Wednesday because I'm vowing to go easy on myself and maybe I'll diet in May. Or maybe I won't.

But I reckon I'll get there in the end...