It has been a couple of weeks now since New Year, and yet we’re still seeing article after article with that trite headline:
“New year, new you”
When I see this, it makes me madder than a sack of ferrets. I get real writer’s wrath. Why? Let me explain…
Convincing people that they need a ‘me-makeover’ sells products and services, lining the pockets of some…whilst simultaneously stealing sanity from others. Imagine the internal dialogue that you have with yourself when thinking about this ‘new you’: it’s generally based on the belief that the existing you isn’t quite good enough.
By thinking like this though, we fall into the trap of only ever looking forward and putting self-appreciation off until we’ve reached the next (potentially unreachable) milestone: “pride in me is only something for my future self to enjoy”.
Maybe we should pause and assess the playing field before deciding to change it? Maybe we look at what we’ve got, before deciding we need more / different / better? Maybe we reflect on what IS working, not just what isn’t; and on those characteristics that are really positive in our personalities, that help move us in the directions we want to travel.
Once we’ve really taken the time to acknowledge our attributes, then by all means look at ‘areas for development’, because this is all part of the complete picture. But that shouldn’t stop us from valuing who we are right now - the current model - because we’ve worked really hard to get here and have been shaped really rather brilliantly on the way…