Oftentimes, the New Year brings hope and sparks motivation for many of us, but this is not necessarily the case for everyone. Change can at times be a source of stress and anxiety, which, with the coming of a New Year can definitely be heightened. So in an effort to help relieve some of the stress, we’re going to share a few different ways in which you can relax during the beginning of a new year.
Ease Your New Year Anxiety – Brit, Team Ambrosia
Christmas – I totally love. New Years Eve? Well, not so much. To be completely honest, I could totally do without New Years entirely. I know this probably makes me sounds like a bit of a New Years’ Eve Grinch, but I find there to be WAY too much pressure associated with this particular evening! Not only is there an incredible amount of expectation to do something extraordinary on the 31st, but the stress of having to become a so-called “brand new version of you” once the clock strikes midnight, is just way too much!
I can definitely appreciate the opportunity that New Years’ Eve presents in terms of attempting to make better choices, and set goals for oneself. In my personal opinion, the start of a New Year is a great time to reflect on the past year, appreciate your memories and try and learn from your mistakes. But the amount of pressure that we place on ourselves to achieve, at times, outlandish or unrealistic goals, announce it to the world, and then have to admit that a mere few weeks later, we failed at said goals… is a lot!! Does anyone else feel this way?!
If the answer is YES… then perfect; this blog is for you! Because today, I’m listing off different ways that help ME deal with my New Years’ Eve anxiety… in the hopes that it well help you in some way!
1. Goal Setting: One of the biggest sources of my New Years’ Eve stress is the fear that I will be unable to achieve the goals that I set out for myself. So instead of setting wildly unrealistic or unachievable goals, I like to set smaller goals that are easily measured and more attainable; which helps alleviate stress and anxiety!
Below are a few examples of some quintessential New Years’ goals, and how they can be easily measured!
- Resolution:“Spend Less, Save More” – Set up your bank account so that it automatically transfers a small sum of money into your savings account each month. PS. Be sure to check out our blog post on how to go one week on groceries, and spend around $100.00 HERE.
- Resolution:“Lead A Healthier Lifestyle” – Ex. Swap one meal every day with a plant-based alternative. We have a lot of really wonderful, prepared plant-based meals if you’d like to try this out!
- Resolution:“Become Less Messy”- Spend One Hour Cleaning Out Your Room Each Wee
- Resolution:“Become More Active” – Start With Walking 30 Minutes a Day – It’s Just 30 Minutes… you can absolutely do this
2. Ease Stress Naturally: There’s an uncertainty that comes with welcoming a new year that just doesn’t sit well with me! For many people, change and uncertainty can be a big source of stress, so when an entire evening is dedicated literally to celebrating the root of your anxieties… it can become a tad overwhelming! So if you find yourself becoming stressed or anxious over the next couple of weeks, try to manage it naturally, some things you may want to consider for this are:
- Keep Rescue Remedy on hand: This is a combination blend of 5 Bach Flowers that are well known for dealing with stress and anxiousness; I come from a family FULL of nervous flyers (myself included!!!!)!!! So we each have this handy at the airport! We have both the Rescue Remedy Pastilles and the Rescue Remedy Drops on sale for the month of January!
- Spend time doing things that make you happy: New year? Who cares! Keep doing the things that you love, and that make you happy; just because it’s a brand new year, doesn’t mean that you have to change yourself! It’s not for everyone, and that is TOTALLY okay…. Spend time with calming people, continue on with your work, family etc. There’s no correct way to celebrate the coming of a new year!
- Eat healthy and workout: For me personally, taking care of myself health wise is without a doubt, the best method to help combat my stress and anxiety. Whenever I’m feeling like my anxieties are creeping up, a run or walk will typically do the trick to keep the stress at bay!
3. Acknowledge all of the Really Great Stuff That Happened LAST Year: You still felt all of that anxiety last year on NYE correct? Well, we did it… we totally survived last year, and I ‘m going to wager that you had some pretty great times while doing it too! One of my foolproof ways to ease stress during the beginning of a new year, is it write down ten of my favourite memories from the year prior. This will help you acknowledge that while a year of uncertainty may at first seem a bit intimidating, it led to some amazing times last year – and there’s absolutely zero reason that it should be any different for the upcoming one!
How do you manage stress during a New Year!
