Happy New Year lovelies, I hope you all had a great time ringing in 2015! Around this time of year, I like to look ahead and think about what I would like to achieve over the next 365 days. Out of habit and constantly failing at them, I refuse to set myself any resolutions, for me they seem to always set me up for disappointment.
Instead of jotting down a new years resolution, I like to set myself a few feasible goals which will hopefully result in me achieving a larger overall goal. Doing things in baby steps is far less scary to me as opposed to going in at the deep end.
After being pregnant for the majority of last year and giving birth, I want to focus on my body and health this year. Of course, my health is always a prime focus for me and I’m always keen to look after it through good food and exercise, however I want to take a more rounded approach going forward and consider my mind, body and soul in all aspects related to my health. Last year I really began to appreciate the need of all three to be wholly healthy and posted a lot about self-love, making time for yourself and the psychological aspects of exercise.
Mind
The psychological aspects of health are often ignored and I genuinely believe that the way we feel affects our health and how we take care of ourselves. I have found that I can get stressed and much of this comes from being a new mama and wanting to get everything done knowing full well that the mountain of tasks that I’ve set myself are unachievable with a newborn.
Since having my little man, this is something that I have already started to work on, but I want to look at this in more detail. I hate that I can become so worked up because I can’t blitz my to-do list and then the ensuing guilt because trying to take me away from my baby. This has been difficult to get my head around, prioritising has been key here, but I think there is more work to be done and I’ve looked at ways to de-stress and relax. Throughout 2015, I want to try meditating and practising yoga to help clear my head and to relax. I’ve tried both in the past and know that just a few minutes of each can make me feel instantly calmer.
Body
I do have a post coming up about my postpartum body and after having a baby this is something that I obviously want to concentrate on in the new year. Surprisingly, I’m feeling pretty great about my body post birth and back into my pre-pregnancy jeans. Although I didn’t put that much weight on during pregnancy I have lost a lot of muscle strength and tone – my core strength seems to be non-existent and my fitness levels aren’t what they used to be.
I’m under no illusions, I know that regaining my fitness isn’t going to happen over night and it’s a long road ahead, but I’m hoping to slowly to get back to my pre-pregnancy fitness this year. It took 9 months to make a baby, so it’s going to be a slow process, but I’m up for the challenge. Since I don’t have as much time as I used to I’ve had to reconsider things a little and realistically I’m probably not going to be able to work out as much as I want to. Going to the gym has to be something that I can only do when Alfie is at home at the weekends and I’m going to be heavily reliant on home workouts and DVDs. I’ve already spotted a mama and baby yoga class that I can take Aiden too, which essentially kills two birds with one stone: I can get fit and spend time with my baby.
Soul
Being mindful of doing things that make me happy is very important to me. With motherhood and everyday life in general, it’s very easy to lose your identity. Grabbing a couple of hours a week to myself to do something that I love is something that I’ve really tried to achieve since giving birth, even painting my nails feels like a treat these days. As I’ve previously discussed, looking after yourself and being selfless means that you can look after your loved ones better, with a baby this is high on my list of priorities. Eating foods that nourish my body and soul, which includes chocolate and cupcakes, taking time out for myself, my work, spending time with my family are all necessary for me to have a happy soul and life.
This year I also want to do something a bit different: at the start of each month I’m going to pin a word to my notice board. This word will be something that encompasses what I would like to achieve that month in line with my mind, body and soul approach for 2015. For January and after all the indulgent food over the festive season, I’ve chosen the word NOURISH. Not only am I am hoping to nourish my body with wholesome food but also nourish my mind and soul and fully embrace a wholesome lifestyle.
What is your approach to 2015? Do you set yourself new years resolutions?
Which word would best describe what you would like to achieve this month?
We set resolutions as a couple, things we’d like to do together for the year. My word for the month is BALANCE.
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Such a great word for the month, I may be stealing that at some point in the year. Happy New Year!
Great aims for 2015 Jemma, that mama and baby yoga class sounds so sweet!
I know, I can’t wait to take Aiden along to it.
I like your idea of pinning a word to your noticeboard every month. These sound like great healthy goals for the new year and I wish you luck. By the way, what is the plugin called which suggests the facebook like on the bottom right of this page?
I think that it’s called Coversion Box and should come up on Google. You just enter your details and copy the generated HTML code in to your blog.
I too am anti-resolution as every time i set them i seem to fail them so when i entered 2013 i told myself no more resolutions just monthly goals and so far this has worked well for me. Good luck hun and wishing you the best for 2015
I’m exactly the same, I do much better with goals though. Happy New Year!
Great goals, good luck for the year ahead!
Same to you Lauren! 🙂
Great goals – realistic but ambitious. Exactly what you need. It’s crazy to think that you were pregnant most of last year – it’s a long time!!
I know it’s so weird! My nan had 8 kids, so imagine how long she was pregnant for, crazy!
I think these are great goals to have.
I think that is the difference between goals and resolutions, goals are actually achievable and not just random statements.
happy 2015!
Happy 2015! I agree, resolutions always seem unattainable.
Happy New Year Jemma! 🙂
I like the idea of having goals rather than setting resolutions. It sounds much less daunting and more like a guideline to life rather than setting yourself up for a fail or feeling pressured to do things in a certain way.
Happy New Year lovely! I hope you had fun celebrating the arrival of 2015. 🙂
Absolutely, goals seem to be much more achievable than one big resolution. I always tend to fail at resolutions and always seem disappointed when I do.
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