5 Ways a Tattoo Can Help With Your New Year Resolutions

Last week we provided 5 reasons why a tattoo makes for a great new year resolution, but now that 2019 is upon us we’re flipping the script a bit with some insight into why a tattoo can actually help with your other intentions for the year (and beyond) to come. Below are both direct and indirect ways getting inked can potentially help you hit those targets towards a better (as you see it) you.

For many of you, physical improvement is on the agenda for the new year. This intention takes many forms, but in some way a tattoo can directly have a positive impact.

Sure, in the most basic sense a tattoo adds art to your body can thus be seen by many as an improvement to the aesthetics of your public facing persona, but the concept here goes deeper than that. For example, a new tattoo can be used to cover a scar or an old and bad tattoo that you’ve lived with for far too long, something that will drive an immediate and noticeable result. A well placed tattoo can also complement and accent the muscles you intend upon sculpting in the gym this new year, as long as it receives the proper care. In addition, via micro-blading or eyebrow tattooing, a tattoo can also help correct the visible symptoms and side effects of medical treatments and conditions that render patients and sufferers without hair.

All you need to do is inspect your canvas in the mirror and in your eyes (all that matters) imagine how a tattoo can change something for the better.

This is a bit of a cheeky round-about connection between a new year tattoo and resolution, but for the bold and beautiful out there it can be highly effective. You see, there are many creative types out there who are wasting their time and talents in a mundane nine-to-five (or whatever) that is going nowhere fast. If this is you, your new year resolution may be to break the corporate (etc.) chains and finally go after your dreams. By getting a VERY visible tattoo that represents this dream, you can force the issue.

For example, let’s say at heart you’re a musician that works at some buttoned-up establishment with strict rules about physical appearance (i.e. no visible tattoos). Walk into a tattoo parlor today and get a microphone (or guitar, drum set, saxophone, etc.) inked on your upper arm or even nape of the neck if you’re inclined. Show up at work in the new year and freak out your conventional boss. Even if they don’t fire you (read: free you) for violating policy you will have fully committed to who you are, which leads to the next point.

In following item #2 above, you will have a reminder to follow your dreams, one that stares you in the face every day as you glare into the mirror. Look, scribbling on your vision board and downloading self-help eBooks will only get you so far. Instead, you need a physical reminder to rise up and fulfill your destiny in a manner that is literally written in ink.

Improving emotional/mental health is a very important resolution and one that requires a lot more insight than we are qualified to cover on a grand scale. However, we’d be remiss to not share findings of important studies which indicate that tattoos may help improve emotional wellness.

One well known university study reported that women with four or more tattoos had a substantively and significantly higher level of self-esteem than those with fewer or none. Another university study from the UK found positive effects of tattooing in relation to body image and self-esteem, while other recent studies have found that individuals who were moderately to heavily tattooed experienced an increased sense of self-confidence after having tattooed their bodies. In some cases the act of tattooing was done as a coping mechanism in response to a traumatic event in the recent or far past. Whatever the case may be, getting a tattoo may be instrumental in helping people get out of a funk and move towards building greater self esteem. However,  it must also be noted that if you’re suffering from a more serious emotional/mental health issue, please reference this resource page from HealthLinkBC (for BC residents) and this resource page from the government of Ontario (for Ontario residents) before coming to see us.

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If you have any questions about getting a new tattoo, please feel free to contact us in the Greater Vancouver BC or Toronto ON area anytime.