New Year. New Me. New Start.

New Year. New Me. Fresh Start.

Or that is how the saying goes. I, like many others, join the same cult every year only to disappoint ourselves within a short frame of time. Whether it be a day, a week, a month. I envy those who stick to their new perspective and outlook on life and get on with what they want to do. They succeed, and to those on the outside looking in, it seems effortless. This in turn leads me into telling myself off, getting annoyed and frustrated at my own lack of motivation and drive, and ultimately giving up on any goals and wishes I had when the New Year began. I fail. Every. Year.

Now, unlike most of the other years where I tend to give up on my hopes and dreams within a week. I decided to stick to it for a full month. Minimum. Interestingly enough; I found it rather easy but at the same time I did not need to do much this year. My New Year “resolution” as we call them was to learn more about myself through personal development. Now, being on social media this was not exactly hard to do, we all know that our phones and the apps on them listen to our conversations and follow what we search. So, it wasn’t too long before I found adverts and suggestions on my social media feeds of people/groups/businesses that want to help me get from “0k to 20k in 1 week” (pfft, you’re kidding right?) and then others that claim “reduce stress, gain productivity” (could be interesting) or completely outrageous claims of “free masterclass to discover yourself with these 5 steps” (only 5?!?).

Of course, I ended up signing up to one and as soon as you do then you get ALL the adverts. I an inundated. But in my bizarre experiment of my New Year Resolution I signed up. In the end I joined about 6 classes. All had different names, and all stated something different, so I had plenty to investigate and if I am honest, I was getting intrigued as to what these people would help me discover in myself. Maybe it could uncover some mysterious truths lost in my subconscious that would help me become a better person, friend, partner, daughter, or sister. The next day changed my mind. 30+ emails changed my mind.

Now, I like to keep my inbox empty. I file stuff I want to keep and bin the useless stuff – yes, I am THAT person. So, waking up to find 30 odd emails in my inbox was a shock. I mean, how many times did each of them have the message me. Fair play to them, I don’t think they expect people that sign up to have also signed up to 5 other classes but 30+ was still excessive. If we break it down mathematically that equates to 5 emails per course. In 1 day. *sigh* Of course, I knew they were going to try and sell me something. That was obvious. Nothing comes free. Those emails went straight in the bin. I knew at some point the courses themselves would sell to me, but I’m tight, and whilst I’m happy to experiment with my resolution – I will only do it for free.

Within the emails I kept, which funnily enough matching the number of courses I signed up to, 6. All welcome emails, how lovely! I downloaded the workbooks they sent. I read all the information in all the emails. I was set. Some were live streams on social media, some were downloadable videos, some we audios. Not a problem. I was set, and ready for whatever they threw at me, and throw it at me they did. Positive mindsets, reframing your thought patterns, building confidence, goal setting, stop overthinking, self-image makeovers, and everything in between (should anything be left). I had no idea what I was letting myself in for, but you can bet I made the most of it. I made notes, I downloaded videos, I kept everything I could. The courses were free and I’m not one for turning down free stuff. Even if I don’t repeat the lessons, I’ve got them. I went through an entire A4 pad of paper of notes, scribbles and insightful pieces of information. I printed and followed the advice in the workbooks and scribbled on those to. I absorbed every, single, word.

So, now you’re wondering, what did I learn about myself? What did I learn on this personal development experiment I set myself? Well…more than I thought.

Many of the lessons were all about your perspectives and how you view yourself and the world around you. I learnt positive mindset is everything. You can either view yourself and the world negatively, which in turns makes you miserable or you can change your perspective and see the good. Good = happy and happy = good. As someone who hasn’t had this lesson in life before, I felt that was a good one. The techniques they taught my surrounding how to set goals that stick, how to reframe and change your perspective, gain confidence, and build self-esteem are all useful whether you need them or not. I have basically spent a week learning about myself so, yes, ultimately my New Year resolution has resulted in a New Me. I guess 2021 was my year…for now.

Will these lessons stick with me for the rest of the year?

Will I use them and make this year one where I change my life completely?

The chances are quite high in the “Probably Not” category of my life, which is disappointing, but I tend to have a skill for being a consistent disappointment in myself. Yet, if I take my new skills and get a new perspective and reframe this; I am consistent with myself. Does that count?