Here's a myth that January sells us every single year:
"New year, new you. This is your chance to finally fix yourself."
As if you were broken. As if the version of you that survived last year—through all of it—isn't worthy of existing in this one.
Pause. Where does that lie land in your body? Does it tighten your jaw? Make your heart beat faster?
The truth is: The self-improvement industry is a $13 billion machine built on making you feel inadequate. It profits from your belief that you're not enough—not productive enough, not thin enough, not successful enough.
But here's what they don't tell you: you cannot hate yourself into a version of you that you love.
Research from Dr. Kristin Neff's lab at UT Austin shows that self-criticism doesn't motivate lasting change. It creates shame spirals. What actually works? Self-compassion. The radical act of treating yourself with the same kindness you'd offer a struggling friend.
You don't need to be new. You need to be kinder.
Try this perspective shift:
Instead of asking, "What's wrong with me that I need to fix?"
Ask: "What would it feel like to accept that I'm already whole?"
Sit with that question. Let it breathe. You don't need to answer it today.
When the spark feels gone and the pressure to "fix" yourself is overwhelming, Inner Spark Recovery can help reignite it gently.