New year new you? Rubbish!

What makes the first of January such a special day that invokes such passion to make changes in our lives? Why do we believe ‘new year new you’?

Arbitrary measure

Yes, it is the beginning of a new year but that is only an arbitrary measurement decided by a Roman that it should be at that point in the cycle of the earth going round the sun.

Why for instance don’t we make the time for change say when we move to British summer time? This would make some sense with the days getting lighter and summer on it’s way. Oh wait a minute, that is another arbitrary measurement!

Change, change, change!

We seem to have this need to put ourselves through hell with almost hand wringing angst to show we are repenting for the excess of the recently passed festive season. Why once midnight comes are we suddenly able to go on a diet, give up smoking, reduce the amount we drink, take up exercise when the previous day we couldn’t. Nonsense!

It is certainly an opportunity for all sorts of help videos, healthy eating regimes and general improvement plans to show themselves and I’m sure quite a lot of money changes hands for the elixir that will provide these changes.

Special Day

There’s no doubt that the ‘newness’ you can attach to 1st January is appealing. It has this feeling of getting rid of the old whether that is a habit, clothes (replacing them with gifts from Christmas) or just the chance to have a good clear out.

When I was a head teacher, my first assembly of the new year consisted of four pieces of blank paper representing the day, the week, the term and the year which I would use as opportunities for the children to make a difference.

Watch the bandwagons

It is very tempting to climb onto the various bandwagons that trundle past at this time of the year. If you are one for resolutions, don’t make them so hard that they are bound to be broken by the end of the month (if they last that long). Consider making some affirmations to be kinder to yourself. You’d be surprised what a positive impact this can have on all aspects of your life and it can mean that you’ve succeed with a ‘new year new you’.