This time of year, many of us can get caught up in making resolutions that are long forgotten by Groundhog Day. The challenge with resolutions is that they tend to be plans for huge, sweeping, life altering, changes. “New Year, New You” can seem pretty attractive. Then, a week into the process, we can begin to rethink our goals. Do I really want abs of steel? Or an organized closet? Or a completely plant-based diet? What was I thinking? Self-improvement doesn’t have to be all or nothing. (I know! That was news to me too.)

We can just take a step, any step, that moves us forward, and see how that goes. When we are feeling good about the step we are on, then maybe, the next step will be clearer and we can feel confident about taking that next, small step. Before we know it, we’ve made some significant progress and are feeling good about our ability to keep going. Self-improvement doesn’t need to be chucking out our old self and starting over. If we really think about it, our old self is not too shabby. After all, it was our old self that got us this far.

Self-improvement can be about finding and embracing what we like about ourselves and making a few adjustments to the areas we’d like to learn, grow or change — one step at a time.

Judi Holder

Judi Holder is the Program Director for RI International’s San Diego programs and has been with the company for almost 20 years. She is the author of the Wellness and Empowerment in Life and Living (WELL) 4th edition and the co-author of Creating Healthy Habits, a five-session program to help people develop the skills and tools for healthy lifestyle choices. Judi has shared about her own personal recovery experience with service providers throughout the country.