Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JANUARY 5-11, 2022 UCW 17 e New Year celebration is a time-honored tradition that brings resolutions at each annual reset. New Year's resolutions are usually made with good intentions but fade as time passes. About 60% of us make resolu- tions, but only about 8% follow them through. e top New Year's resolu- tions include weight loss, exercise, saving money, learning a new skill, quitting smoking, reading more, find- ing another job, drinking less, drinking more water, getting organized and spending more time with family and friends. Nothing on the list mentions anything about personal me time and pampering yourself. As a fitness trainer, I advocate for healthy eating, exercise and lifestyle. Lifestyle, however, also has to do with taking time for ourselves and personal indulgence. e holidays especially are a go, go, go, do, do, do. e holiday season is satisfying with the grand celebrations, charitable events, par- ties, family gatherings, fabulous meals and decorating. Still, the time spent on all of this may have left you feeling tired. Me-time is an essential part of well-being, and there is nothing wrong with feeling the need to crank it down a bit and do something for yourself without feeling guilty. Mental health is just as important as physical. A friend of mine has a one-liner; she often says, "Everyone has the same twenty-four hours in a day, and you cannot add to that period." It took a long time for me not to feel guilty about doing something for myself and to say no. It is usual for us to volunteer, be on com- mittees, spend time with friends and it is easy for schedules to fill. It can be hard to say no to an increasingly busy schedule and find time to squeeze in one more thing. Saying no is better with a straightforward approach; don't make excuses. It can seem that one more thing will lead to an avalanche of responsibility to the point that you feel overwhelmed. It is unfair to you and those involved because quality is bet- ter than quantity when you overextend yourself. How often have you said, I do not know why I am doing this because I do not have the time. is year take your time to think about the commit- ment involved and ask questions. We all need time for ourselves, and while what everyone likes to do varies, everyone's preferences are equally important. Your me-time may be a hobby, activity, going to lunch or shopping with friends. My indul- gences are occasional spa visits. For me, there is nothing like a great facial, massage or pedicure. e personal time, relaxation, music and attentive pampering throw me in the ultimate state of relaxation with no thoughts of the outside world for an hour. Make your resolutions — create a healthier you. Set small attainable goals and reward yourself when you reach them. Be involved with organi- zations, committees, fundraisers but don't feel you have to be involved in all of them. Remember to take me-time and make sure you set that time aside. It helps to have a schedule in front of you when making your decisions. Good decisions create less stress for you. Learn the art of saying no without feeling bad about it. You are not letting someone down if something is not a good fit, and you do not have to make excuses. Live, love life, keep moving and remember you cannot squeeze more than twenty-four hours into a day. FITNESS CYNTHIA ROSS, Personal Trainer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910- 484-6200. DAN DEBRULER, General Manager, WCLN. Comments? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-484-6200. Resolutions and you in 2022 by CYNTHIA ROSS In our first whole week of the new year, I have to admit how little I remembered about the last one, 2021 is a blur. To be more accurate, how dif- ficult it was for me to distinguish memories of 2021 from those of 2020. It's been a weird run, to say the least. It seems forever ago, but 2021 lays claim to the disruption of global trade. A massive cargo ship got lodged in the Suez Canal, a first- time event, leading to a six-day effort involving a dozen tugboats, under the watchful eye of world- wide media outlets. On the bright side, millions of people around the globe learned the Suez Canal is in Egypt as it became one of the most-searched items on Google last March. And while the story had a happy ending, it wasn't any easier to explain than the bottled water and toilet paper shortage that took place a year earlier. A little later in the year, that search was outpaced by a con- siderable uptick in searches for how to say "I love you" in sign language as BTS and many other K-pop stars began incorporating sign language into their choreog- raphy. According to Google, the world searched "love you in sign lan- guage" more than ever in 2021. Additionally, the world was abuzz with concerns over ex- treme weather, from widespread fires to floods in the U.S. and abroad. row in a solid dose of the tur- bulent social and political arenas, that we found ourselves in over the past year, and maybe your memory will get a little fuzzy, too. One thing I can say for sure, though: none of this has caught the God of this universe by sur- prise. We just celebrated Christmas, a recalling of a world-changing event which took place more than 2,000 years ago. e world was steeped in chaos at the time. ousands of people in dozens of nations were living under op- pressive regimes. ese people were forced to pay taxes to their oppressors while trying to outrun imprison- ment, enslavement, cruelly harsh punishment and even sometimes ordered to surrender their chil- dren to be slaughtered by evil and corrupt regional leaders. So, if you're inclined to look back and think, 'this is the worse it's ever been,' you may want to count your many blessings before saying it aloud. During 2021, most (at least in America) had enough to eat that we could share some with those who didn't have enough. Most of us had a place to call home, the opportunity for a job to pay for it and more than enough to wear as the weather threw us its curve balls throughout the year. Let's enter 2022 consciously aware of all we have to be thank- ful for. Maybe, just maybe, we'll look up to see it's actually the best it's ever been. Counting your many blessings by DAN DEBRULER FAITH Photo courtesy of Pexels Photo courtesy of Pexels