You’ve seen it everywhere: …”New Year, new YOU”.
I have to say I’m not buying that for myself, and I’m not buying that for you either. So many of you sit in my chair and say something along the lines of “fix everything” or “only surgery can fix this”. It sounds so extreme and harsh when you see it written out, but I think if you’re honest with yourself you’ve had thoughts like that- maybe even this morning as you were getting ready. I don’t believe that a New Year means we need to overhaul everything about ourselves to try to build the latest, newest “instagram version” of ourselves.
I reject that concept for me and I reject that concept for you.
What is it about a date on a calendar that makes us say: I need to “fix” myself?
Honestly- that noise, that inner mean girl, inner critic- that’s the biggest thing I want to resolve to work on this year. I want a community that feels safe and abounding in support without judgement.
I think in December that inner mean girl gets really loud- trying to convince us that what we did all year was not good enough. Don’t get me wrong, ditching old habits and focusing on self improvement is actually amazing- I’ve got a few books in mind that have helped me grow immensely this past year. The difference is- we need to be doing these things because we love and value ourselves, not because we are constantly deeming ourselves unworthy.
Time to get serious with the self-love.
What does that look like?
It might look a little similar to making a resolution.
The thing is- the good, healthy choices that make us feel our best are things that might need a little tweaking from our daily routines. I embrace the idea of continued self development as a no-limits act of love for myself.
No limits means: I love myself when I’m “doing good” and I love myself MORE when I notice myself not doing as well. When I say “no” to healthy things like nutritious foods, exercise, and sleep– and when I say “yes” to self-deprecating thoughts, a stress induced extra glass of wine, and other habits that I know don’t help me to feel my best.
I forgive myself and resolve, if you will, to do the the healthier things as an act of self love, rather than self-loathing. Adding in meditation, exercise, healthy eating – these are a few examples of things that will give you more peace.
The mind-shift is this: choose to do these things for yourself out of love. Don’t do them because you think you’re broken or not good enough. Aim for non-toxic thoughts, non-toxic habits, non-toxic patterns.
You are good enough, you are not broken.
Let this be a year of healing how you treat yourself. Forgiving and loving yourself and showing yourself compassion like you do to others. I hope this note is a reminder for you to be kind to yourself today.
You are so very worthy of that.
Happy New Year,
Rachel Postovoit
Greenhouse Beauty Founder