There is nothing wrong with you.
When you start believing that you are not inherently bad or defective, that is when resolutions for change actually can have lasting effect. All we ever need to do both in life and in health is to get out of our own way. Eliminate the obstacles. Like a log jam in the river – moving the logs is much easier than trying to push the river uphill.
It’s true that you might be more comfortable in your body if you exercise regularly or eat fewer inflammatory foods, but you are still a valuable human being regardless of what you choose to do about this. If you see your intrinsic value, you would probably choose less punishing behavior, and less time would be wasted spinning in unproductive guilt when things don’t go exactly as you planned.
Letting go of the idea that there is anything “wrong” with who we are opens the door to making good choices. Connecting with our value lets us put aside harsh judgement and shame over the choices we make when they are not ideal.
The self-improvement frenzy of the new year’s resolution tradition is dangerously destructive because it feeds all sorts of unhealthy thought patterns. We all know that most of these “resolutions” don’t stick and it’s because they tend to be rooted in unrealistic expectations and stem from faulty assumptions that we are “broken” in some way.
There is nothing wrong with resolving to remember to do good and be good whatever “good” means to you, but please remember that goodness is a natural inclination. So, really, you’d be resolving to be more of who you naturally are. If anything, we should all take a moment to reflect on what is keeping us from letting our optimal potential and natural happiness surface.
When the attitudes shift from a place of self hatred to self love and acceptance the natural flow of wellness is allowed to resume.
Let’s embrace what is and who we are just as we are. You don’t need improvement this year or any year. You are perfect just the way you are.
Now go do something healthy just for the love of it!
Image credits: wikimedia commons By Zoran Kurelić Rabko, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52898411
Meeting Dr. Joseph Pizzorno
