Happy New Year?

New year resolutions….what is that all about? Should we be making resolutions once a year, or making commitments to ourselves and others more often? How many of us stick to these resolutions? And do they fit with our values and beliefs about life?

Common resolutions include things like, “get healthier”, “lose weight”, “eat better”, “give up or cut down on alcohol”. Also popular are resolutions dealing with better money management / debt reduction. One problem with these is that they are often not specific enough, have no time frame, don’t relate to our values and we don’t really think them through.

The following shows how many of these resolutions are maintained as time goes on:
– past the first week: 75%
– past 2 weeks: 71%
– after one month: 64%
– after 6 months: 46%

When it comes to living with diabetes I am sure we make many “resolutions” “promises” and “plans” for how to better manage. The thing is, life is not lived in a bubble or the glow of a New Year’s Party. It is lived out here in the real world. Living life with diabetes needs to be about our life first and diabetes second, so that it can take its rightful place without taking over, or being neglected.

Sticking with healthy changes for our body, mind and wellbeing takes a lot of elements. One of the biggest is having support, being gentle on yourself and not throwing in the towel should you have a moment, a day, or a week, off track. You are the one in control of your life and you can come back to what is important to you, whenever you need or want.

Mindfulness can help as it enables us to be in tune with our thoughts and realise we are not ruled by these often unconscious moments, but can tune into them, stop them, change them and choose to ignore them. It also helps us to savour every moment of life, happy, unhappy, joyful, painful or other – and ensure we don’t waste a minute – which is in fact a great resolution.

Helen