In this month’s well-being column, executive coach Tracy Forsyth discusses the most important resolution for the year ahead and offers seven ways to deliver it.
Well, there’s never been a year in my lifetime that I’ve been more glad to see the back of: goodbye 2020 and hello 2021!
Normally, a new year brings all sorts of New Year’s resolutions: be better, do better, lose weight, get fit and the like. This year, I recommend you eschew all of those in favour of just one, one that may indeed be the hardest to stick to and the most challenging to achieve. What is this one resolution? To be kind to yourself.
In Yogic philosophy, there is a concept called Ahimsa, traditionally interpreted to mean non-violence or non-harming. It’s why many yogis are pacifists and vegetarians. Ahimsa is also interpreted to mean kindness. And that means to you as well.
With regards others, you can see how treating people with kindness, not getting angry, not being short-tempered or abrupt and being respectful is a very good idea. But kindness to ourselves is also hugely important to not just our physical but mental wellbeing. In the same way that we need to treat our bodies with respect, so to we need to respect our minds.
Remedy & resolve
We are often our own worst enemies, beating ourselves up when we make a mistake, putting ourselves down, obsessing over the one thing that went wrong instead of celebrating all the things that went right. This year, I urge you to remedy this behaviour and resolve to be kind to yourself.
I realise this may be a departure from the norm, especially in driven, ambitious, high-achieving professionals so if you are wondering how on earth to do this, here is my list of suggestions:
For more information on Tracy’s career coaching and wellbeing workshops and newsletter, visit walterwootze.com.