MUSINGS Got the resolution guilts yet?

Got the resolution guilts yet?


Make small changes and reward yourself along the way

Beauty
Maggie Gibbons

On News Year’s Eve, I made a resolution to stop buying so many clothes and get more wear out of the ones I already own. I neither drink nor smoke, so I find it all too easy to justify my splurging. However, I get a dose of the guilts on a regular basis, so I felt brilliant when I’d made my resolution.
I lasted until January 3. My promise to self was promptly forgotten, and I bought two lovely dresses in the Carraig Donn sale. Am I just a wimp, or was I overly ambitious to start with? Regardless, the best intentions and promises made at midnight on New Year’s Eve were ripped apart three short days later. How have you managed?
Research in behavioural psychology shows that if you deploy large amounts of self-control for one thing you’ll be too exhausted to use it for another. Simply speaking, if you make a resolution to lose weight, join a gym and drink less, you may not have the mental energy to do them all. Keep it simple.
Approximately one in four of us break our resolutions in the first week, and by the end of January resolutions are but a distant memory for many of us. We get frustrated, think it’s futile. Guilt creeps in, followed closely by inaction, and that’s the end of the resolve for another year.
The New Year is not a magic coach we can climb into and then disembark a totally new person. Established habits are hard to break, so why set yourself up for failure? Cut yourself some slack by rewarding small changes rather than beating yourself up. Say you decide to lose a stone in the gym, why not walk more, you may not lose it as fast but if you keep it up the weight will eventually go. Let go of obsessing with outcomes and pay attention to the process. Most importantly reward yourself for the smallest changes.
My second resolution is to treat my skin more gently. I now remove every scrap of make-up before bedtime! It only takes a few minutes and I adore the feeling of squeaky clean skin. Facial oils are a must at this time of year, and one of my all time favourites is Roger & Gallet’s Huile Embellissante (€26.50 for 100ml). It multitasks as a hair, face and skin product.
Atlantic winds can cause a ‘burn’ effect, sapping moisture from your skin, leaving it feeling dry and sore and looking anything but glowing. Nivea Daily Essentials Soothing Cleansing Mousse will soon get your healthy looking complexion back.
Most of all regard yourself with love and care. Treat yourself to something nice now and then, go to a show, buy yourself some little bit of frippery or meet up with a couple of friends for coffee or lunch. Appreciate family and friends more. The years are flying by, so why don’t you resolve to make 2015 the year you truly wake up and smell the coffee!

Maggie Gibbons is an Image/Style Consultant based in Louisburgh. She can be contacted at living@mayonews.ie.