决心:长期的游戏

欢迎来到2022年1月. 是的,2022. Can you believe just two years ago we were on the brink of the whole world changing? The word “COVID” was only a whisper in our vocabulary. Nowadays, it’s hard to go a day without hearing or reading it somewhere. 虽然2020年1月感觉像是过了一辈子, there’s one thing about the month of January that seems to stick around, 不管全球大流行. 决议.

Whether you love the idea of a resolution or not, throughout the month of January we’re constantly inundated by all sorts of messaging about eating healthier, 早起, 日志记录更多, 攒钱, 多练习瑜伽, 诸如此类. And with social media, we feel even more pressured to do it all perfectly, the first time. I don’t know about you, but for me, that feels like a recipe for failure. Especially when you think about the Januarys we’re so lucky to enjoy in the Pacific Northwest: dark, 冷, 和多雨的. On paper, it doesn’t seem like the ideal time to start jogging daily at the crack of dawn.

In 2019, it was reported that only 7% of people who set resolutions actually completed them. 7! 如果你是那7%的一部分，那就太棒了! 继续. 但如果你像我一样, you’re a part of that 93% that has the best intentions to complete your resolutions, but find yourself stuck with an unfulfilled goal (I’m looking at you, books I said I’d read before the end of the year), 也许还会有挫败感.

对我来说, one of the biggest goals I always had the intention of setting for myself, 醒得早. 多年来, 我熬夜了, 睡在, and always wishing I could be that person who’s sipping a cup of coffee and enjoying the stillness that is those early morning hours before most of the world wakes up. 但它总是同样的循环. I’d try to wake up early, I’d hit snooze a couple of times, and inevitably wake up at my normal time. Or, 我醒来, 完全累坏了, power through the day with an extra cup of coffee, 然后放弃再试一次. I never had the willpower to become a morning person, mostly because I had convinced myself I was a night owl by nature, 这是无法避免的. It was as if there was this little switch inside me that just needed to be flipped in order for me to be that early riser.

I wish I could tell you there was a big secret formula to how I flipped that switch in my brain. How I became the person who wakes up before the dawn even breaks, 我早到了, 或者至少要准时, 通常. And though it might not be what you want to hear, what really helped me make the change wasn’t some big secret or magic potion. 很简单, but often frustrating thing that we never want to hear in our fast-paced, 即时满足的世界:时间. Flipping that switch took time, and plenty of patience with myself. It took way longer more than just the month of January, when many of us feel the pressure to complete some arbitrary resolution simply because the calendar has flipped from 2021 to 2022.

Sometimes setting deadlines for ourselves does work. 但更多的时候, 给自己恩典, and plenty of time is the key to flipping that habit switch, 不管它是什么. 对我来说, 对自己有耐心, and slowly easing into going to bed earlier and 早起 was what did the trick. I had weeks of groggy mornings and nights when I wanted to stay awake, just to watch that extra Survivor re-run episode. 但是通过练习, 一点自律, and a lot of patience from a partner who is an early bird by nature, I was able to start a more regimented routine that has overall made me less anxious, 强调, 和现在的自己在一起更快乐. Not to mention, some melatonin and sleepy time tea sure doesn’t hurt, either.

Trust me, this is not to say that I don’t have my moments. We’re all human, and it’s really easy to slip out of new habits and into old ones. 毕竟，我们是习惯的生物. 关键是当你做对了的时候要庆祝, and not be too hard on yourself when it doesn’t work out like you plan.

I’m of the mind that we deserve to celebrate those achievements, even if they feel small to us or are already second nature to others. When I think about it, waking up at a reasonable hour doesn’t seem like much of an accomplishment. To many, it’s what they’ve done their whole lives. But even the simplest change in your life can start a domino effect and open up the doors to so many other small habit changes that can transform your world. I hope that you don’t see the small habits you want to change as benign – they can be that first step that changes everything. 这不是夸张.

So, this year when your noodling with the idea of setting a resolution, I urge you to reflect. Reflect on the achievements you have made, even if they might feel small. 另一方面, reflect on those resolutions you have in the back of your head that might feel impossible, 开始吧.

Try 早起, even if it’s only 15 minutes. Roll out that yoga mat and make space for yourself to stretch out and feel more at home in your own body. Head to our 生产 Department and try that vegetable you’ve been a little hesitant about. Pick up that pen and write something in your journal, even if it’s a short sentence that says “I have no idea what I’m doing.” An awful lot of amazing things comes from that feeling of having no idea what you’re doing.

不管是什么，开始吧. And remember that most resolutions worth sticking to don’t complete themselves in a month.