[Misc] New Year's Resolutions: February Check-in & Habits

Beauty Tips For Body Care
Last month*, we made our New Year's Resolutions and tried to make them SMART: Specific, Measureable, Actionable, Realistic and Timely.And it’s easy to think that determination and self-discipline will be enough to attain that goal, especially when you’re just setting it. “This time it’ll be different”, we tell ourselves at the start of January. “I won’t flake like I did before. I’ll be resolute. I’m really convinced of how important it is now. Not like before.”We are now at the end of February and I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s not that simple. When we think “it’s different this time, I’m taking this seriously now”, we forget that we took our resolution seriously last time as well! We really wanted to succeed then. And yet, we didn’t. So, how did that happen?Having a goal is not enough. Because life gets in the way.We can’t remember our goals every minute of every hour, and even if we do - that’s not enough. During the time picked my skin, simply remembering that I had made the resolution to stop picking would never be enough to get me to step away from the mirror. Because there were other, stronger factors at play.The stress that had been building in my life for days. The behavioural routine I had gotten into: dealing with that stress by picking my skin. Consciously and rationally, I didn't want to pick. But emotionally, I needed a release really badly. And we’re not Spock - our emotional needs and impulses get the better of us all the time.It’s not easy to build a new habit. When you’re used to taking a specific route to get to work, it’s going to take a lot of practice to change that. You’ll mess up sometimes and go the old way, when you’re distracted, in a rush, or busy. That’s normal! Because when we’re on autopilot, we’ll do the behaviour that’s most ingrained in us, that’s most habitual.The way to make sure the new route to the grocery store becomes our new default, and that our new healthy habit becomes more ingrained, is by practising. Letting ourselves fail. And simply continuing. Focusing not so much on the goal, but on the process that gets us there.So this month, let's focus on the habits you could develop to support you in attaining your goal.How to participate in this threadLet us know what your New Year's Resolution was and how it's going so far. If you didn't participate in the first thread, that's totally okay! Come join in :)Brainstorm ideas for a good habit that could support you. Remember: a habit is not a goal! It's a behaviour.Respond to other comments to celebrate people's successes, commiserate over their failures, or suggest a habit that could support their resolution.Share random moments of joy? Those always make me happy!*I'm aware it's almost March... I should've made a January check-in thread, sorry!
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