A Resolution with No Expiration Date Build yourself a fortress, even if it's on your bed.

Can you count how many times have you scrolled past a meme showing a young person laying distraught and overwhelmed in bed with a passive-aggressive, yet comic thought bubble?

You don't have a number, do you?

Now, think about how many times have you been this person yourself?

You still don't have a number.

As the Modern Era progresses with its fast-pacing everything, the only aspect that's lagging behind is the people that these products and services are supposed to serve. Especially these past couple of years, people have woken up from their beds, worked while sitting on one, went back to sleep on one again. Now, it might seem that the latest generations have had it easy but a pandemic can have effects that might not be visible on the visual plane. Being cooped up, quarantined, and cut off from social interaction entirely has even made people despise their own homes.

It is important to observe how these generations have the utmost FOMO(Fear of Missing Out) and is striving, pushing themselves to work harder and achieve higher. The influencers on social media, the prime success stories of people who've built glory from nothing might seem to have it-all but today, the majority lot has convinced itself that all glitter is GOLD. And they're utterly useless if they haven't already started digging for it. The idea of rest, a good night's sleep almost evades everyone rolling from one side to the other at 3 a.m. while watching TikToks and Reels of people who have either set resolutions to push themselves and are working amazingly on following that; or those people who are getting depressed and anxious over their illusion of being an underachiever.

The need to be fast, to be accurate, to be spectacular hasn't been greater than it is today. Though we are the first mass of people who have actually started prioritizing and understanding mental health, it is surprising to see how we've been simultaneously sabotaging it as well. This massive cultural shift of assessing 'success' or 'achievement' has been drastic, where it started from scoring 3 meals a day as a win to making no less than 3$ per minute/3 followers per hour.

All of this hush-rush race has devoured the generation of sleep and rest. To satiate this need of being unique doesn't necessarily have to be a heavy task; this year promise yourself to stop. To rest. To take a long breath, and validate your exhaustion. This is the ultimate way of indulging in self-care that all these influencers are rambling about. Allow yourself to acknowledge all the suffering you've been through, and find accomplishments in little things. Pat yourself on the back for making your bed, watering your plants, and cleaning up a drawer. It's utterly important to understand that your savings aren't always supposed to buy you a penthouse, buy a comfortable mattress instead to reward yourself for the hard work--or even a new bedsheet to trigger the idea of renewed understanding of sleeping and resting.

The thirty seconds of the internet cannot sum up the idea of happiness for everyone if they're despising and desperately needing it at the same time. Being happy still counts even if you're in a dream because then it means that you're finally taking a much-needed nap. This year, take a baby-step towards fulfilling your resolution, of resting better and resting well. Give yourself a break! A democratic societal change against these imposing norm of 'pushing yourself harder' will not occur unless it finds its roots in every other individual. And when you finally start construing the habits of the idols you adore, instead of just eyeing it from a distance--you'll have a new person looking at you in the mirror. Same bones, but stronger and, of course, less sleepy.