‘New year, new you.’ Nonsense.

At this time of year we are bombarded with the ‘new year, new you’ narrative. It’s overt in advertising, present wherever I go. 

I have absolutely no problem with deciding that something has to change and making a plan to do that. In fact, I applaud anyone who does so, and am here to support them as much as they need. But there are two things about the ‘new year, new you’ bombardment that really trouble me.

Firstly, there is an implication that we should be changing, that the 2018 you wasn’t enough. Wasn’t good enough, slim enough, organised enough, successful enough. We need to be telling ourselves more often that we are enough. 

And then, there’s the suggestion that the dongs of midnight suddenly convert us into a different being. Cinderella style, we suddenly shed our desire to eat, smoke, or to struggle with relationships. Pufffff! New you! But we all know that’s not the way it works, and that deep down you’re the same you. So you will soon revert to ‘same you’ behaviours, thoughts and habits. And then you’re back to being ‘not enough’ again, but with the clangs of failure to add to the noise. 

You’re you. And if no one has told you recently, you are enough. If you want to make a lasting change, do it - new year is as good a time as any! Just don’t rely on donging bells at midnight to be what makes the difference. If you want to change the story, you often need to work at a deeper level than magic wand waving.  

Clinical hypnosis works by amplifying your true wants and values, while quietening the pesky or damaging thoughts and feelings that stand in your way. It is brilliantly quick in most cases, with most clients only needing to visit me once or twice. (Weight management usually needs a few more sessions, which is why I offer small groups as an alternative choice to booking individual sessions.)

The 2019 you is you. The same you. Don’t buy into the hype that things need to change. But if you do feel that you want them to change, don’t rely on midnight bells - we’ve been here before. If you would genuinely want to make a change at any point this year, get in touch so we can discuss how hypnotherapy can help.