9. New year new me and all that bollocks

How you all doing out there? Did you all survive the Christmas period unscathed? Or did you get arseholed, fall over a table and insult Aunty Gladys ? I sure hope it was the latter.

Mine was shit in all honesty. I contracted this utter twat of a virus that's been going round which rendered me about as much use as Andrew Tate in a roomful of women (that's a reality show I would PAY to see) ) . I managed to pull my shit together for Christmas day/Boxing Day but after that slowly festered away in my pit feeling like the end was nigh. Give me Covid any day over that absolute horror, I don't think I have ever been that ill, for that long.

I have just about recovered, but its a one step forward two steps back kinda illness so who knows what tomorrow will bring. I managed to score some antibiotics off my bestie (that makes her sound like a drug dealer, I can assure you she is not) as getting a doctors appointment is about as realistic as winning the Hunger Games.

I think being ill really escalates the single thing, especially during the holiday's, nothing like a bout of deadly flu to set off the 'I am going to die alone and Hugo (my cat) is going to chow down on my lifeless corpse' thought process (spoiler alert - we all die alone)

Are you depressed beyond belief yet? Still reading? (if you are I love you)

ANYWAYYYYYYy I digress. Where were we. Ah yes I was going to talk about resolutions! Who has them? Do you keep them? Why do you make them in January? Cause you think suddenly the slate is wiped clean and you have a fresh new year to have another go at spectacularly fucking them up within the first 3 weeks? (I point you towards any gym at this time of year vs the rest of the year)

Personally I do not make them. I think its stark raving bonkers that we put that much pressure on ourselves to suddenly become the brand new sparkly 2.0 version who doesn't drink, doesn't eat shit and goes to the gym five times a week. How about we set a goal for each month and work towards it ? Instead of dry January just try to have a better relationship with alcohol? Don't cut out the junk food, just reduce the regularity of which you consume it? Start at the gym once a week and go from there?

Its all about the little wins my friends, sustainable small tweaks that mean you are more likely to stick to them rather than just waiting until the 1st Feb, getting black out fuck faced drunk and puking over your uber driver on the way home.

As a witch my new year does not start until March, so I give zero fucks about January and its resolutions, its mad that we let the seasons dictate these 'changes' anyway, shouldn't we all be committing to being better versions of ourselves all year round? Not just one month of the year (which also happens to be the worst month of the year, Blue Monday is a THINGGG)

I am not shunning anyone that has these new year resolutions and jaysus if you manage to stick to it beyond January the drinks are on me! I applaud you!

Its also easy to forget what you achieved through the year when you convince yourself that if you don't get it done in Jan then you have failed - I sat and made a list of all the things I actually did get done through 2022 and it was a hell of a lot more than I thought. some were huge things like starting therapy, finally releasing the blog and binning off the people that I should have binned off a long time ago, Others were small, like dating myself, going on a solo trip and building on my self worth. They don't have to be huge milestones.

This year is shaping up to be amazing, lots of big things planned - Disney Florida being the main one (at Halloween no less 🎃) Downloads anniversary, and potentially starting a degree, but there are also lots of little things I want to achieve, like going to the observatory, getting up earlier, visiting local witchy places and exploring further afield with the dog. Small but equally as important.

Here's 50 small things you can implement this year-

1. Make your bed every morning

2. Leave the tea bag in for at least 1 minute before adding milk (you will thank me)

3. Smile at a stranger

4. Get up 15 minutes earlier

5. Try meditation (even just 5 minutes, Headspace is a great place to start)

6. Take a deep breath (a proper one)

7. Listen to a podcast that's going to improve your life somehow

8. Lift a heavier weight at the gym, you will be surprised at your capability

9. Drink an extra glass of water

10. Have a soft drink between every alcoholic drink (I am gonna be doing this one!)

11. Eat more veggies

12. Have a meat free day (or more!)

13. Say something nice about yourself to yourself daily

14. Look up - we miss so much by not looking up!

15. Hug your dog more

16. Hug your friends and family more! Hugs are cool

17. Reach out to someone you haven't spoken to in a while. I did this today.

18. Sit with nature for a while

19. Just be present, hard to do but honestly its magical.

20. Keep a diary

21. Read a self help book

22. Journal

23. Start a savings account (no matter how small - I use Plum)

24. Only buy it if its a resounding YES

25. Sit by a body of water for a while

26. Say Yes! more

27. Say NO more - ie those things you really don't wanna do but feel obliged to

28. Take your power back

29. Dance around your living room like a loon

30. Moon bathe

31. Look at the stars

32. Eat a food you have never eaten before

33. Draw a boundary

34. Take an art class

35. Take some you time

36. Take a solo trip

37. Date yourself

38. Walk more

39. Do something that scares you a little

40. Tell that someone you love them

41. Give a stranger your number (I don't mean just any random, ya know, ones you fancy)

42. Take a risk (like above)

43. Scream into the sky (this is a real good stress reliever)

44. Go to bed earlier

45. Stop doom scrolling

46. Get an alarm clock rather than using your phone

47. Start a bedtime routine

48. Start a morning routine

49. Make Sundays your self care day

50. Do what makes you HAPPY!!

Stay away from the socials at this time of year, those people (you know the ones) are full of shit . You do you.

Buh bye for now bebes