If there's one thing guaranteed to bring a damper to the New Year, it seems to be New Year resolutions.
If you make them, then you break them and feel guilty or if you dont make them, you also feel guilty.
Now let's get clear here - I am not talking about finding a cure for cancer or solving world peace. When I talk of NY resolutions I am talking about the realm of Style into Action.
Thats things like streamlining & simplifying your wardrobe/accessories/beauty routine, only wearing your best colours, never buying on sale unless its the only thing you want to wear that night, looking after your clothes, never letting your heels wear down to nothing, never putting dirty clothes back in the wardrobe, mixing prints, wearing more colour & making BFF with a tailor, cobbler & dry cleaner. Stuff like that. I am sure you get it.
Superficial?
Maybe.
But if it's important to you (& me), then go for it.
Dont care a fig what anyone else thinks.
All that is important is what you think.
Assuming you want to make NY resolutions, there's three things to bear in mind.
1. Make them as specific as possible; and
2. Include time frames.
eg: "I plan to lose 1 kg per week by going to the gym 3 times per week & using a personal trainer twice a week" is more likely to get you there than "Lose weight".
Thirdly, dont make them huge - cos it'll reduce the possibility of you keeping them. The go hard or go home rule doesnt apply with resolutions.
eg: If your list reads "lose weight, wardrobe overhaul, get organised, buy a house, drop crappy friends, learn to say "no"", then I'll put money on the fact that you wont keep most of them. Why? Cos there's to much on that "to do" list - & it covers everything, you may as well put solving world peace in there too - cos you wont keep that one either!
Take some baby steps. Create a smaller list of the stuff that you really want to achieve - the stuff you are most motivated to achieve - put that list on your fridge door.
Now about me - I dont make NY resolutions.
Well, more specifically, I dont make NY resolutions of the traditional kind.
I havent done this for close to 20 years.
Why? Because I realised I just dont keep them. And that set me up for disappointment.
Anything I really wanted to achieve, I would achieve during the year, irrespective of the NY list.
The "Valerie" resolutions I have been making however, started with this book, which I bought many years ago: Wear More Cashmere.
I realised at the time that for a fashionista like me (cough, cough, splutter, splutter), who loved winter woolies, I had almost no cashmere and all my knits were wool. So my resolution was to buy more cashmere. Interestingly, I was super motivated with that one - so much so, that I nailed it good & hard. By the end of the year I had acquired loads & loads of cashmere...
My other resolutions I have made have included:
Buy more shoes (I'd have to be dead not to nail this one!)
Buy more Armani
Buy more Hermes bangles, scarves
Buy a yellow handbag & hold out until I find the perfect one
(this one was huge considering 90% of my bags are black or navy)
Sell 2 things a week on ebay
Dont laugh - I dont joke about these things.
I'll tell you, I've kept these too.
Other peoples' may include:
Go on an o/s holiday each year
Create a theatre room at home
Ramp up the cellar
Buy those super duper golf clubs
Renovate the bathroom
Get the kids private school account going
Join the gym & go 4 times per week
I have also given up trying to explain my concept of NY resolutions to friends.
They dont get it & they never will.
So I tell people if they ask & leave it at that.
The fact they dont understand is their problem, not mine.
So my advice to you is dont be swayed by what other people think - give yourself the luxury of time & space to figure out what YOU need & make a plan. Whether you do it at new year's or any other time during the year isnt important. As long as you do it within a time frame that works for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment