This is the time of year when people set New Year’s resolutions. The word resolution has a rich meaning. It can mean “a promise to yourself to do or to not do something,” but it can also mean “the act of solving or ending a problem or difficulty.” If we think of a resolution as a way of helping us end our suffering from trauma, then we can set attainable goals. We can use New Year’s resolutions as a recovery aid.
Setting realistic goals is a very important part of keeping NYE resolutions. A 2016 study shows that of the 41 percent of Americans who set NYE resolutions, only nine percent felt they were successful in keeping them by the end of the year. A previous study found that 12 percent of people who set a resolution are successful even though 52 percent of the participants thought they would keep them.
There is more that researchers found during that study, which sheds light on how we can be successful in keeping our resolutions:
33 percent of those who failed didn’t keep track of progress
23 percent forgot about the resolutions they set
Around one in 10 said they made too many resolutions
What these studies show is that in order to keep our resolutions, we have to set realistic goals. Can you achieve it in one year? If so, it’s a great resolution. As a trauma survivor, ask yourself, "Will this aid my recovery?” The studies also show that we have to keep track of our progress. I suggest keeping a journal and writing down every bit of progress toward your resolution. Journaling will also help you remember your resolution.
Walking in newness
And now, let us get to my resolution. Drum roll, please…
My NYE resolution for 2023 is to embrace God's newness for me. As part of that goal, I am setting smaller goals:
Grow in self-acceptance.
Learn to be happy.
Encourage myself.
Practice good self-care.
Reach out for help when I need it.
Deepen intimacy with God.
Let my walls down with people I can trust.
I decided to pray and ask God for a word for 2023. The word that kept popping up in my mind is the word newness. Yesterday, after tapping and meditating, I realized that I don't know how to be happy. For as long as I can remember, I have suffered from depression. Last spring, I started taking an antidepressant that helped with anxiety. However, it didn’t touch the depression. I had an appointment at a local psychiatric clinic last Friday. I now take a higher dose of the antidepressant.
After taking the higher dose for three days, I felt something shift in me. I hardly had the oomph lately to do my morning mental health routine. I stripped it down to the bare minimum. Yesterday, I felt a surge of motivation to restart it in full throttle. I tapped and meditated for 45 minutes. This time of year is usually when the depression gets bad.
As depression ebbs, I have to learn how to live without it. That may sound silly. However, when you have learned to live one way your entire life, you re-learn how to live. And that is where newness comes in. I need new thinking, a shift from lack to abundance.
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19 (ESV)
This year can be our best year yet when we experience more recovery from trauma than ever before. It requires a commitment to recovery, a commitment to self-care. Setting an NYE resolution, with goals to help us meet that resolution, can aid in our recovery and achieving our best year yet. Trials will come. Problems will arise. We can still have our best year yet because we are entering it with a desire to be who God created us to be.
Resources
Image by Annette Meyer from Pixabay
Bless you, dear Gina. Setting realistic expectations is so important. Learning to be kind to ourselves and others are good goals. Love you <3
Walking in newness and reaching out for help are the most important things