New Years Revelations
Emma Henderson, Founder and Owner of Breathe Studio
What are your New Years Resolutions?” It’s an all too familiar question with answers that reveal a lot about the mindset and priorities of society at any given time.
According to Forbes, the most commonly set New Years Resolution in the UK for 2024 is to “exercise more” (40% of all participants). This is closely followed by “lose weight” (35%), “improve diet” (33%), “reduce stress” (24%), “enhance emotional well being” (22%), “meditate regularly” (17%) and “practise gratitude” (15%).
In other words, our primary desire is to feel both physically and mentally healthier in 2024. We want this just as much as, if not more than, “financial improvement” (31%) and “career” (18%) goals.
https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/life-insurance/new-years-resolution-statistics/
I hazard a guess that these findings would have looked drastically different forty years ago. I can’t imagine that over 17% of people in 1983 would have considered mindfulness to be so beneficial as to include it in their NY resolutions. There is no doubt that as a society, we have come to recognise the hyper importance of not just physical but also mental health, and also of the undeniable connection between the two. We now recognise that there is no true separation between the mind and body. Their connection is so powerful that we can generate a full scale, physical response simply from a thought, memory or fear (aka when Aunt Anxiety makes an unannounced visit). Similarly, our ability to perceive and process information is compromised if our internal physical and chemical state moves outside of pre-set limits (have you ever tried to reason with someone who is hungry?). In other words, disease (in the body) = dis-ease (in the mind).
Not only this, but we recognise as a society that career and financial progression, whilst still important, must come secondary to prioritising our health. Gone are the days where it was acceptable or admirable to have no life outside of work, or to suffer under a narcissistic boss simply because the pay was good. The most important thing a company wishing to acquire and keep talent can do now is to recognise the viewpoint of society towards health and balance and adapt accordingly.
Health is wealth. If you have been dining off the “I don’t have time” mentality, make 2024 the year you stop. Do not be one of the people that, as Brian Tracy would say, live on “Excuse Island.” Set a clear intention to prioritise your mental and physical health in 2024. Best place to start? Why, Breathe Studio of course.
