Setting resolutions in the New Year often seems like a good idea, but they may be counterproductive in the long-run. Riddled with pressure and disappointment, not reaching your goals or keeping your resolutions may leave you feeling worse than that post-New Year’s Eve hangover.

Sadly, Christmas is over and that sunken feeling is looming. The post-party dread of eating too many pigs in blankets and overindulging on chocolate, avoiding those uni essays or not working enough over the holidays – an end of year sized Sunday night feeling. Help. But before you know it, they’ll all start flooding in… wait for it…

New year, new me!

The new year’s resolutions are endless, no more chocolate, no more wine, take more photos, the classics – most of us do the obligatory whim resolution that will inevitably be broken by the time February rolls around. But can some new year’s resolutions have a more negative impact on us than the motivational drive we hoped for? All with good intentions, often we set ourselves goals that are unfortunately unrealistic.

I spoke to a few of our gals at #TeamCoco about New Year’s resolutions, instantly the likes of exhausting, pressuredread, guilty, disappointed and such resonated throughout their reactions, but surely something that is a supposedly positive plan shouldn’t be so daunting and down-heartening? Unfortunately, feelings of anxiety are often linked to unobtained goals, and ‘failure’ can have a negative impact on self-esteem, convincing you you’re incapable and preventing you from moving forward, as Guy Winch reveals in his TEDx Talk – ‘Why We All Need To Practice Emotional First Aid’. If you think you’ve failed, or are going to, you inevitably will.

Of course, I am a firm believer of working hard for what you want, and if you want something in life you have to go out and earn it. I encourage everyone to dream big, and know that if you want something hard enough you can get it, but we have to put things in perspective and realise that some goals are going to be pretty challenging for even the most persistent. Sometimes, when looking back on your year at the things you maybe haven’t achieved, you instead have to put everything into perspective and re-evaluate whats important. Maybe rather than ‘this year I will…’ or ‘this year I will not’, think about what you would like to achieve, and not what you have to.

‘Sometimes getting a little lost along the way means you have even better experiences and opens new doors you never even knew were there.’ – Alexandra, #TeamCoco

In a world already so full of scrutiny, perhaps we should focus on writing kinder and self-care driven resolutions instead of those we can guilt-trip ourselves on later when we don’t achieve them – spending less time worrying and stressing out, and spending more time celebrating things you maybe didn’t plan to do and praising yourself for those unexpected goals achieved! Whether those things are tiny or huge, it makes no difference, every single achievement adds up and counts towards being the best you can be.

My key advice for the best 2019 is:

Enter the New Year with zero pressure on your back

Know the possibility of your potential

Celebrate the achievements you never planned

So, as 2018 comes to an end, instead of bogging yourself down with resolutions set to fail, look back at all the amazing things you’ve achieved this year and start a new tradition – New Years Reflections. Look back and give yourself the credit you deserve, maybe you didn’t finally get your dream job, but maybe you managed to move out to a new city on your own or tick off some places on your travel bucket list. We’ve done so many amazing things this year between us at #TeamCoco, from giving TEDx talks and passing driving tests, to graduating and getting married, not to mention the amazing adventures we’ve been so lucky to have and celebrating our fourth year of House of Coco – Roll on 2019!

‘Not all negatives are failures. I think you need to think positive and positive things will come – it just takes time.’ – Sally, #TeamCoco

Author

Northern girl Laura is the epitome of a true entrepreneur. Laura’s spirit for adventure and passion for people blaze through House of Coco. She founded House of Coco in 2014 and has grown it in to an internationally recognised brand whilst having a lot of fun along the way. Travel is in her DNA and she is a true visionary and a global citizen.

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