Why I'll be my new best friend in 2021

I resolve to be my own best friend in 2021.

Because Lord knows I spent many years being my own worst enemy.

Is it self-centered being your own best friend?

No, not really. Being your own best friend is crucial to good mental health.

Nobody knows you as well as you know you. As human beings we always seek pleasure. Different things give different people pleasure.

So, if you’re your own best friend, you never would deprive yourself of pleasure. You always would be working on nurturing whatever parts of you make you happy.

But you must ask yourself first if you truly are happy, or if you truly are capable of being your own best friend.

To be your own best friend, you must be honest with yourself. You may notice your best friends in life have been honest with you.

Because people who aren’t honest aren’t good friends, right?

Where does your spark come from?

Where does your spark come from? Do you feel great after you exercise? Do you like to go shopping?

If exercise makes you tick, make it a priority. I continue to fail to do this sometimes and I know it’s not good for me. I love to exercise. It makes me feel good.

It can be tough sometimes to walk out the door and head to the park, but since I know it will make me feel good, I force myself to do it.

I am in tune to myself enough to know that an hour-long walk every day makes a huge improvement in my mood, even if it’s chilly outside.

As my own best friend, I’m going to make sure I get that walk in every day.

I also love to shop online. So, I try to work hard so I can have some extra money for online shopping once per month.

What things turn you off?

If there are parts of your life that aren’t working, do what a best friend would do. Give yourself some reflective, honest advice.

Do you have a job that’s stressing you out? I recently had a job where I felt like I wasn’t appreciated. I was excited about the position at first, but my boss did everything possible to make me not excited. Delays on projects. Zero constructive feedback.

As my own best friend, I told myself I should step down from the job. Another gig I had should be enough to pay the bills, I reasoned.

So why should I go on being miserable? I left that position recently and I already feel much happier.

I was so stressed out by the amount of work I had that to not be enjoying it made it completely not worth it.

Thankfully, I was honest about why I didn’t like the job. I felt insulted and overworked.

There was no reason to keep that gig.

Learn to celebrate life's victories

A good best friend knows what really excites you. For a writer like myself, having a story goes viral really pumps me up. As my own best friend, I find a way to celebrate when it happens.

My celebration may be as simple as buying a new hat. I like hats. I bought a very nice, leather "newsboys" hat the other day after a story did especially well.

A good best friend knows how to console you when you're down. The best way to stave off depression is to not let it get the best of you. Only you can do that, and as your own best friend, you must.

Pamper yourself when things get tough. Take a load off. It's what a best friend would do.

Learn to never let yourself down

As your own best friend, you must learn to never let yourself down. I intend to do that this year.

I do things I don’t like now and then. I don’t always make the healthy choice.

But I’m smart enough to know when I make a poor choice. As my own best friend, I must accept personal responsibility when my actions result in something unpleasant.

A good friend would ask a friend who made a mistake why he or she did it. And if your friend is a good friend, they’ll give you an honest answer.

Being your own best friend is about being honest with yourself. And I intend to offer that up 100 percent this year.

Consider it my fresh start at being my best friend.