Happy 2016!

Congratulations everyone! You have almost made it through the first Monday of the year! Woohoo! When my alarm went off this morning I contemplated for a brief moment turning it off, not getting out of bed (it was so warm!) and pretending like the new year wasn’t here at all. Afterall, 2015 wasn’t too bad. I’d actually put it as a really great year for myself personally and professionally so the idea of getting up on the first Monday of the year to go to work just wasn’t going to cut it for me this morning. Let’s just keep things as they are, I mean, do I really have anything to change?Over the past few days I have had multiple conversations with friends, family, and even my team this morning about New Year’s Resolutions. I must admit, this is a topic I’m quite torn on. Thinking dialectically, a resolution can feel very “all-or-nothing”. Starting at midnight on January 1st I must start doing A, B, and C. I don’t know about you, but I just don’t work that way. I need small attainable goals that lead me to a larger goal and sometimes it takes much longer than 365 days to get there. Let’s be honest, out of the 365 days I have to complete a resolution, some of them I won’t even use! While discussing resolutions with a friend last night I very quickly, and bluntly said, “I don’t set resolutions because I know it’s just something I’ll fail at.” How unbelievably true for me – and if I may point some fingers – I’m going to assume its true for some of you as well.Call me a critic, but nothing magical happens at midnight unless you’re Cinderella. And giving yourself a time limit to set and complete a goal can be a recipe for disaster. If we don’t have the motivation, the willingness, to do things then often times we won’t. Take for example the gym… for the first six to eight weeks of the year the gym is slammed! “I want to be more active.” “I need to lose weight.” “I want to work out seven days a week!” People set these goals and initially work their butts off. After a while the fairy dust wears off and old habits jump back in and then I can freely get my elliptical without waiting in line around mid to late February. It is time to be fair to ourselves. If you are a firm believer in setting a resolution and working at it for the year then by all means – go for it! Please do so with caution and lovingkindness towards yourself that resolutions are hard! Setting goals and completing goals is a difficult task. It is a task that does not always fit within a calendar year, not because “we suck” but because we’re humans and our mindset isn’t always there. This year, when setting resolutions/goals think about what is truly feasible! Make it something fun, something enjoyable, something that gets you excited! One of my coworkers said she wanted to spend more time in her pajamas – THAT is a resolution I can get behind! So Happy 2016 everyone from all of us at Peachtree DBT. We hope that 2016 is the best year yet, resolutions or not!