Not Giving Up

Ah January, the month when everyone asks "what's your New Year resolution?" then looks disappointed when you don't have one or it's something boring. Alternatively they volunteer their own resolution, quite often one of the usual suspects - "I've given up alcohol" or "I've given up meat" - quite a popular one this year. What they all seem to have in common is the principle of a resolution is often to give something up, to stop doing something you probably found enjoyable and make January an even more miserable month than it usually is.

Well not me. I've given up on giving up. I appreciate the irony.

If I have an informal resolution at all it's to take up more stuff. So far, I've got back into writing properly every day. Not a huge achievement you may think but when writing makes you happy then do more of it, that's the way I'm rolling through January. I've reconnected with people I'd lost touch with and I've done yoga early morning every day. Two different yoga challenges and I'm loving both of them, I post a little pic on Instagram each day to connect with the yoga community out there. There's a lot of love and encouragement, definitely nobody encouraging you to give something up other than your attachment to material things....hmmn, whilst I understand that's part of a yogi way of thinking it currently falls foul of my Not Giving Up mindset :-)

I'd like to think of this as a more positive start to the year, sometimes not giving up is about determination, not letting something beat you or not letting a problem defeat you. I'm ok with that. However, if it's turned around into not giving up becoming about not being happy to fail, learn, practice and try again then that's not for me.

This may not be for everyone, for those of you that nail an "I've given up xxx" traditional approach to resolutions, I salute you but I won't be joining you.

#notgivingup

p.s. apologies for anyone of a certain age who now has that song in their head...you know the one I mean...