How to Keep Yours This Year
Welcome back Fashion Fox family. Thank goodness 2020 is now officially over. Hello 2021!
First, let’s catch up, because it’s been a while:
We have stuffed our faces silly with Christmas food (it’s the cheese platters and gin for me!), alcohol, Christmas pudding and Pavlova. We have sung all our favourite Christmas carols and I personally have squealed each time I saw a Christmas tree with fairy lights on it.
For those of you who are new to the blog, Christmas is my favourite time of the year. I put my tree and decorations up in July. When I’m an old lady it will be Christmas at my house all year long complete with carols and presents and a different Santa hat or pair of festive ears everyday. I will become one of those colourful, unique people that live in every suburb. Anyway, I digress… I look back on the year that was and how much we all went through. I think we can all agree it was the year of the highest highs and lowest lows. I found myself treasuring a lot of the small things in life more than normal and also working harder than I think I ever have. A moment that stands out for me last year was the day I thought I was going to lose my small business. We went into an indefinite lockdown, my work street became quiet still and empty overnight, there were no cars, no peak hour, and the pandemic took hold of the world. Everywhere I turned it was all I saw, read and felt. On that day I went onto Instagram story as per my routine to connect and share. What came out instead was so many tears. I cried and cried and cried. I felt so alone and thought all my hard work over thirteen years would be for nothing.
So many of my amazing customers rallied around and backed me and my business. This support helped my heart and soul and mindset more than they know. It re-energised my spirits and inspired me to try harder, think outside the square, work harder and be willing to move differently in business and life. I decided I was absolutely staying for the long term, and that I would do anything to keep my boutique and brand, Miss Henry, afloat, thriving and levelling up. (So thank you all so much, I’ll never forget your kindness and I’ll never stop being grateful that you lifted me up at a low time).
Now back to our blog! We are kicking off the month of January with our popular Why Series. So let’s get right into it...
Why do New Year’s Resolutions suck?
Well shit, because they just do.
We all enter the new year with the best intentions. After a few drinks, fun times and a relaxing Christmas we look to the new year as a pivotal moment to turn the page and do that ‘thing’ we’ve always wanted to do.
“This year I will lose that pesky 5kgs,” we tell ourselves, “right after this last slice of pizza and glass of champagne.” The boozy, happy buzz feels good. We feel confident, certain and comfortable at the time.
The New Year's Eve count down, the celebrations, people around us stocking up on party supplies, the excitement, the whole ‘what should I wear for New Years?’ mindset, the post Christmas hustle and bustle and the anticipation of the moment we all step into the next year ahead.
We get so filled with hope (something I am so shamelessly guilty of which is also something that I love about the human spirit) and we start to dream big again. “Next year is going to be my year” we think. “I’m going to: learn that language, lose the weight, finish the renovation, go to salsa dancing classes, get up at 5am and prep my meals, meditate for one hour per day, read a chapter a day, commit to piano lessons” and anything we’ve always wanted.
First we feel excited and hopeful, we get lost in the fun and anticipation, then it’s time to actually START and do the thing we said we were going to do. Oh dear.
What do you mean I can’t just drop my body off at the gym and pick it up in a week, complete with abs and tan?
New Year’s Resolutions suck because reality sets in.
We look around and realise that the washing still needs to be done, the dinner still needs to be cooked and who will make the beds? Who will fill up the petrol in the car? The grocery shopping needs to be done. The bills need to be paid. Oh I’ve worked all day and now it’s 11pm at night and I still haven’t started my resolution. Maybe tomorrow? Not to be a negative Nancy, but there’s a reason the gym is empty/back to normal after the first three weeks of January. Or that odd feeling of deja vu we get when this year’s New Year’s resolution is bizarrely the same as last years? Hahaha, I giggle because this has definitely been me!
Since we are among friends right now, let’s be honest, I don’t think a year could be any worse than the one we have just had?
You’ve probably made it through some of the biggest hurdles in your life. You’ve made it through a pandemic - that in itself deserves a huge congratulations!
I believe, wholeheartedly, that you can now do anything.
The Fashion Fox Checklist How to Keep Our New Year’s Resolutions:
Make sure it’s something you REALLY ACTUALLY WANT and be specific Not something mundane like losing 5kgs, more along the lines of: “This year I will create the best body of my life. I will look and feel amazing and keep going until I genuinely do.” Something that shakes you awake and makes you excited to go after. This way, it’s a heartfelt goal, rather than a wish or statement.
Talk about it and tell everyone! Tell friends, family, co-workers, let everyone know and they will help to keep you accountable. Even better, find a friend who shares the same resolution as you. It’s a great way to stay motivated if you both do it together. I always go to the gym when I know my friend is going to be there waiting for me.
Just know that New Year’s Resolutions can really suck - laugh about it! Take the pressure off. You’re doing the best you can. Small steps each day make a big result. Enjoy it, take the time to make it about you and do it for the love of the outcome. Not because you’re upset with yourself.
Keep going (especially if you fall off the bandwagon) You will not expire, blow up or lose out if you go off track for a little bit. Be kind to yourself, and keep on going. The path to success is never in a straight line, there are ups and downs. The most important way forward is to look at it as a continuation and say “Ok I missed doing this all of last week, but this week I’m back on the horse and making it happen.” Be flexible and determined.
We usually put our Fashion Fox Checklist at the end of each blog, but in the spirit of honouring my own checklist and keeping myself accountable to you all and my goals I am going to now share my New Year’s Resolutions with you all right now.
The Fashion Fox’s New Year’s Resolutions:
Go to bed earlier (Why am I always the last woman standing? I lay down in bed late at night and wonder why it took me so long to get to this beautiful moment. I love sleep, I need sleep, let there be more!)
Keep attending Pilates classes and walking (I’ve found something that really resonates with me in the realm of fitness and I’m loving the results)
Like myself more (Ahhh the battle of the butt continues. I need to accept and like myself and my body more. It’s time!)
Write my daily tasks/to do lists on actual paper, in categories (instead of on the back of my hand, on receipts, on serviettes. These are long standing habits I’m now going to break. What’s in it for me? The flow of my days will improve, my team will have more clarity and my mind will feel organised and peaceful for it)
Read to my son Baxter (I use to do this when he was little, it’s a great way to bond and it’s also educational)
Learn more and be patient with myself (I’m going to go a little bit slower, be ok with it, and not rush through my days. I’m going to learn French this year and keep on listening to my Masterclass app every morning and really enjoy it).
Thank you for spending the first Tuesday night of January 2021 with me Fashion Fox family. What do you think of my New Year’s Resolutions? Do you have any similar resolutions with me? Let me know in the comments below. If you haven’t already subscribed, feel free to do so. The more the merrier!
We have a much requested doozy of a blog for you next week -
New Year, New Me: How to Ruthlessly Purge Your Wardrobe.
This blog is all about making your wardrobe work for you. Creating space so that your wardrobe aligns with your lifestyle and empowers you to look to the future and leave ‘past you’ behind. We will chat about what needs to be vanquished and why, and how to revolutionize your personal style for years to come. Fashion clarity is on it’s way and you won’t want to miss it!
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