It’s a ritual as old as time. Making New Year’s Resolutions to usher in a fresh start.
While it is successful for many, some people might find it more stressful to try to keep resolutions as the year gets busier.
North Texas psychotherapist Tori Dixon of Graceful Journey Counseling said it’s time to get rid of the “New Year, New Me” mantra.
“Why can’t we have a new year with a better us? Why does it have to be a new year, new us?” Dixon said. “Why can’t we bring who we are fully and authentically to a new space and evolve. Why can’t we get better?”
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
Dixon agreed the new year is a great time to re-evaluate what you would like see in yourself, while also cutting yourself some slack for what you have been able to accomplish.
“What if we opt into grace? Grace gives us the opportunity to be who we are in the moment. To access our failures. To lean into our strengths and to give us a soft place to land. As I am getting better, I am growing stronger. I know that everything I went though was not wasted, but it has not been wasted. Nothing goes wasted if you learn from what has happened,” Dixon said.
Nearly two years in a global pandemic has pushed so many in so many ways. Dixon said use these experiences as a way to push forward into a new chapter.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“Take a deep breath and give yourself the opportunity to say I have made it. I could have been anywhere doing anything, but thankfully I am here in this moment. None of us get it right all the time, but if we can understand we have come so far, even if we aren’t where we want to be, then we can see the beauty in where we are,” Dixon said.
Her final piece of advice is to reach out for help.
“None of us are on this journey by ourselves. We cannot be who we are going to be if we do not ask for help. Tap into your support system. Find a support system and remember that change is part of a communion and we sit at a table and we all just want to be better,” Dixon said.
