With Alex Philamond: New Year Resolutions? Pff... Just Take My Word For It

As the calendar page flips to the welcoming of the New Year, us Nail Techs and Salon Pros are presented with an exciting opportunity to not only evaluate all of the growth we have made, but equally all of the further growth we want to make in the next 12 months. I absolutely hear that some might argue, “why wait until the start of January 2024? Make the change and begin that growth now”, but the purist in me sees the turning of a new year as a soft reset, and a natural starting point for healthier habits and positive change.

"Resolutions never feel as quantifiable as we initially intend for them to be."

In December 2022, a friend of mine posed the notion of, rather than having a new year’s resolution, choose a single word to take into the coming year that embodies the growth you want to see in, and for, yourself. I absolutely loved the idea. Resolutions never feel as quantifiable as we initially intend for them to be, and so a single word felt more qualitative and overarching. I chose the word ‘refinement’, my friend chose ‘legacy’.

For full transparency, I have never been able to stick to resolutions. In the beginning, I always did all the things I felt like I needed to in order to get the wheels in motion: starting that gym membership, buying an obnoxiously priced Moleskine diary to start journaling in regularly, downloading DuoLingo; but by week three of January, my interest and attention span would always begin to wane. I’m sure many of us can attest to this; we start the year off with the best intentions, but as work, personal and life-in-general commitments require more from us, our resolution of “becoming fluently bilingual whilst running an ultra marathon and drinking only water every day” becomes lost in the weeds.

In stark contrast however, I can talk at length and with complete confidence about all of the experiences, learnings and achievements from this last year that have contributed towards “refinement”. So, in theory, this is the first year of my life that I can say I not only achieved my resolution, but I well and truly nailed it.

So here is my urge to my fellow nail technicians, beauty professionals and the Labology 3 community for 2024, instead of setting yourself a new year’s resolution, visualise a single word for yourself to take into the year ahead. Something conceptual, far-reaching and all-encompassing. Something that lends itself to your personal and professional life. Something that encourages you to fill your own cup and facilitate your own growth. 

Mine is going to be “Investment”.

My best, as always, 

Alex. 

ALEX PHILAMOND 

 Mobile Manicurist & Writer

 IG: @put.it.in.nudetral