“You know how I always dread the whole year? Well, this time I’m only going to dread one day at a time.” – Charlie Brown.
It’s a new year, but things feel the same. The “new year” generally holds the reputation of fresh starts and resolutions. A trend I noticed this year was the feeling that if the year just didn’t read 2020 anymore, things would be better. But why would something insignificant like changing one number make a difference? Were we really ready to set our resolutions? I think for most, the answer was “no.”
The year 2020 had us changing, obviously not by choice, so many things about our lives that the thought of having to now voluntarily commit to more change was asking more than most of us cared to consider. So is it fair to give the year 2021 the responsibility of making things better without taking it upon ourselves to take matters into our own hands?
It is easy to spout wellness ideals. We are inundated with them daily. But no cliche is more fitting than “easier said than done.” Most of us know what the right answer is, but implementing it is a whole beast in itself. As your health providers, please know that we understand, and we are also not immune to this.
As I have continued to care for the women of the Couri Center throughout this last year, I cannot emphasize enough the need for grace. We need to give ourselves the grace to admit when we need help, the grace to fail, take a break, start again tomorrow. Although we are a specialty clinic, we pride ourselves in offering so many services to women’s overall well-being. So, if it has been a few years since your annual, you didn’t get that mammogram done last year, you feel lost with the next steps to addressing those 5, 10, 15 (20) pounds that snuck up on you, please know that we are here, as we always have been, to help you with that next step (one at a time) and provide you that grace to make 2021 a better year. Let’s stop giving 2021 the complete responsibility of controlling what our year will look like and gracefully take control of what we can.
Dr. Alexandra Mathern, MD