NEW YEAR, BE YOU!
- dollyoksman
- Jan 16
- 5 min read
Do you have a New Year's Resolution?
What is it? To begin an exercise routine to look better or to start eating healthier food?
Are you still doing what you resolved to do at the beginning of the year?
The New Year is often framed as a fresh start. A new beginning.
It invites us to make resolutions, promises to become better, different, more successful, more beautiful, more something.
But what if this year isn't about fixing yourself or becoming more?
What if you don't need a resolution at all?
What if this year didn't ask you to reinvent yourself?
What if it asked you to stay with yourself instead?
What if it is inviting you to be who you are, worthy, whole, and valuable?
New Year ≠ New You
What If It's a Deeper You?
So many New Year messages are built on the assumption that something about you needs fixing, needs to improve, to be better.
But the truth is, many are struggling not because they lack discipline or motivation. They are struggling because they are emotionally, mentally, and physically tired, overwhelmed, and carrying more than their nervous systems were ever meant to hold.
I met many caregivers, teachers, and heart-centered women who love to help, take on multiple responsibilities, and forget themselves. They can't even start the exercise routine they resolved to do as their New Year's resolution because all their time is spent for others.
You might be one of them. You might be frustrated with yourself because you always promise to start eating healthier by cooking your own food, but because you're exhausted, you end up eating fast food and microwavable meals.
I want you to take a deep breath. That's not a failure; it's being human.
A New Life Begins with Awareness
It is not easy to create a new habit when feeling chaotic and overwhelmed. Have you noticed a feeling of annoyance or irritation when someone tells you to stop doing this and that, or you must or should do this and that, especially when you are in the middle of emotional, mental, or physical struggles?
You cannot force new habits when your nervous system is already overwhelmed. However, if you want to change and create habits that you think would make your life better, spend more time becoming aware of who you are and what your own self is telling you.
Start noticing, for example, your senses when fear or stress shows up, and what your automatic response is.
I want you to know that your responses aren't bad habits. They are learned safety strategies.
Your brain and your mind love you so much that they want to protect you from harm and danger.
A new life doesn't begin by tearing automatic responses down, but
by understanding them. Try to know and understand what they are trying to protect you from.
New Habits That Don't Require Self-Betrayal
What if your first "habit" of the year wasn't productivity, but presence?
Not doing more, but noticing more?
This is where UNMASK™ comes in. It offers practical tools to nurture your emotional and mental well-being.
UNMASK™ is not a New Year reset.
It's meeting fear, stress, and overwhelm as natural parts of being human, with compassion and without pressure, or self-judgment.
Instead of asking, "How do I stop feeling this way?"
UNMASK™ invites a different question, "How do I stay with myself when this feeling appears?"
This shift alone can change everything.
UNMASK™ guides you through six simple, human steps:
U — Uncover Patterns. Notice the protective habits you've developed to stay safe during stress or uncertainty.
N — Name Fear or Stress. Identify the fear or stress response as it shows up, without
overthinking or judging it.
M — Meet Kindly. Turn toward what you feel with compassion instead of pressure or
self-criticism.
A — Allow Truth. Let what's real be seen, felt, and acknowledged without trying to fix it.
S – Step in Authority. Act from truth, not fear. This step helps you let go of over-control and self-protection, allowing you to move forward with clarity. Authority is embodied through practice, not perfection.
K – Keep the Peace. Anchor what you've reclaimed.
Here, you gently protect your clarity with intentional choices, boundaries, and habits so
peace becomes sustainable rather than situational.
These aren't habits you perform. There are ways of relating to yourself that grow stronger with practice.
UNMASK™ meets you exactly where you are, not where January and your new year's resolution tell you to be.
This January, I invite you to choose a different kind of beginning.
You don't need a perfect morning routine.
You don't need a new personality.
You don't need to push past fear to prove anything.
You don't need to be perfect.
What you may need is:
more safety in your body
more honesty with yourself
more permission to move at your pace
You need to remember Who You Really Are.
That's how peace begins.
UNMASK™ may be a supportive place to begin.
It's offered as:
a self-paced course you can move through gently
or a small-group experience for those who want guided support
No urgency. No fixing.
Just an invitation to start the year by staying with yourself.
A new year doesn't require a new you.
It asks for a more honest relationship with the one you already are.
Ready to Begin?
Explore UNMASK™ (Self-Paced)
Learn About the Small-Group Experience
Join us, and together, let's UNMASK and embrace who we really are.
God bless you. As you UNMASK™, may you remember that you're an awesome and wonderful creation and co-creator of the Most High God, the Creator!
P.S. Here is your free PEACE Starter Kit, my gift to you for your new beginning. Please click this link to download.
With Love and Peace,
Dolly Oksman
About Dolly
Dolly Tampos Oksman, MA, MAED-SPED, is a Transformational Speaker, Author, Certified Wellness Coach, Special Education Teacher, and Behavior Analyst. She is the Founder and Owner of Love. Heal. Believe. LLC.
Dolly experienced chronic stress that affected her mental and emotional health. However, when she entered the convent to be a missionary nun, she learned the secrets of how to live a fulfilled life with inner peace and joy. Today, she is sharing those secrets with you.
Dolly is on a mission to help you develop a deeper love for yourself and find long-term solutions to stress. Her new book, Finding Your Lost Self, which is also available on AMAZON and her programs & Services will take you on a step-by-step journey to a happier, healthier, and calmer life with less stress.
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