Ep. 42 Managing New Year Expectations With Self-Kindness (Kirby Hansen-McNulty)
- Neil Parekh
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
How do you feel about New Year’s resolutions? A lot of people make them. A lot of people struggle with them. Do you make them? Do you keep them? Do they help motivate you? We are following up on last week’s show about the start of the New Year with a conversation about New Year’s resolutions. Kirby Hansen-McNulty will join us to talk about how a little self-kindness can go a long way towards managing New Year expectations.
Join us for Ep. 42 of Shining Light on Shadows Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7pm ET / 6pm CT.
The emphasis on “New Year, New Me” can be too much for some people, depending on their sense of self-awareness and self-worth. Kirby will talk about how “New Year” framing can emotionally backfire on people. “If we start out the year already feeling like we’ve failed, we’re going to spend 365 days feeling behind. It’s particularly hard when we’re already busy.”
This is one of the reasons that Dawn Neuburg focuses on intentions as opposed to resolutions. The timing is also an issue for her. It’s better if the change is organic–at any time during the year–not necessarily in January.
My biggest challenge is not necessarily trying to make changes in January, but rather, constantly trying to reinvent myself. Taken in a positive way, we can make changes throughout the year. My reality, however, is that I feel like I’m always trying to optimize what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. There’s a constant feeling of not being satisfied.
Kirby is an ADHD Coach and founder/CEO of CALIBRATE ADHD, which helps ADHD adults build systems that actually work for their brain. (I’ve been participating in their Group Coaching for the past year.) Kirby’s perspectives on New Year’ resolutions will be useful for people who are neurodivergent and people who are neurotypical.
Watch the live show or recording here or on social media: Facebook* | Twitter ** | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram**
*Facebook will delete the video in about 30 days (approx. February 21). We won't know the exact urls for Twitter or Facebook until we go live. For now, these links go to my Twitter and Dawn's Instagram accounts.
Programming Note
Last week, we held a Community Check-In. Both Dawn and I had difficult starts to the New Year. The National and International news certainly hasn’t helped. We shared our experiences and heard from viewers about their own experiences. If you missed it, watch the replay. It was one of our most engaging shows yet. Click here to watch.
Background
Dawn and I launched this twice a month show (usually the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month) in order to help reduce the stigma associated with mental health. Thank you for being part of our community.
We are proud to be in Year 3 of the show. If you are interested in being a guest on the show or know someone who might be interested, please let us know. We’re looking for people who would be willing to share their story, advocates and people who work in the field of mental health.
We hope you can watch the show and share your own thoughts in the comments.
Resources / Relevant Links
CALIBRATE ADHD
(703)909-5101 ext. 101; calibrateadhd.com
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline
800-950-6264 Or text "HelpLine" to 6264; nami.org
Mental Health America Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org; mhanational.org Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) National Sexual Assault Hotline 800-656-HOPE (4673); rainn.org
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