The New Year Doesn't Change Anything

A lot of people see the new year as a time to start fresh and do the whole "new year new me" thing. I think it's great that people can find motivation in our calendars changing, but it also leads to a lot of people putting a whole lot of pressure on themselves by setting unrealistic goals.

The simple fact that we enter a new year doesn't change you as a person. If you're not the kind of person who can achieve the resolutions you've set for yourself, 2022 isn't gonna magically make it happen. We need to work on becoming the people that we want to be, and when we're in the right place to work on certain aspects of our lives, we can set realistic and strong goals that we know we can actually reach.

No one likes disappointment, and repeatedly failing at our New Year's resolutions because they were unachievable to begin with, isn't gonna do wonders for our motivation and self confidence. Stop normalising and expecting for everyone to set resolutions for the new year, and follow your own path for what works in your life. Don't wait till January to join the gym or quit smoking, do it when it feels right for you. And if January comes around and you're not ready, you can start in February, or whenever it suits you, instead of waiting for next January. It's not a magical month that makes everything easier to do, it's just a regular month like any other, and unless you're dedicated to work towards something, it's pretty much pointless to expect it to happen.

I prefer setting goals rather than resolutions, as the latter feel much more restricting and fragile. If you break your resolution it feels like you've failed and all progress is lost, but a goal is something you can steadily work towards. Of course, everyone is different, and if New Year's resolutions work for you, that's great. But from what we've all probably seen around us through our lives, the success rate for resolutions isn't great. We need to allow and respect that reaching a goal takes time, and fitting all of the work into a year can add unnecessary stress to the situation. Progress is not linear, and if you stumble or fall, that's part of the climb. You didn't fail.

In the last few years I've set resolutions that help me better the world rather than bettering something physical about myself. It makes doing something differently less overwhelming, and if I mess up once, I can pick it back up and continue making a difference without feeling like I screwed up.

A couple of years ago my resolution was to tell people whenever I had something nice to say to them. Whether it was a compliment on their actions or appearance that day, a personal achievement in their life or something positive I had heard someone else say about them, I would let them know. It doesn't take a lot of effort, but it can still have a great effect on people.

Last year I had two resolutions. One was to leave good reviews whenever I had a pleasant experience with a company. Of course I didn't follow through 100%, but I know that especially for small businesses, this was greatly appreciated by the owners. I had found myself only leaving reviews when I had a bad experience, and frankly, that's not an accurate representation of my life as a consumer, and people definitely deserve to hear about the good stuff as well. My second resolution was to look second hand before purchasing something new. I have now normalised buying stuff used, and I know that I reduced my carbon footprint greatly last year. Both of these resolutions were ones I knew wouldn't take a toll on my mental health, they were easy to follow and every single time I acted on them, it made a difference. If I slipped up or forgot, that's fine, because there's always a next time where I can do better.

A New Year's resolution shouldn't make you feel stressed or guilty. It should be something that motivates you to better yourself and the world around you, without adding a fear of failing or disappointment. Set yourself long-term goals that you can actually see yourself reaching, maybe not this year, but at some point, as long as you put in the work. A part of growing up is realising that life doesn't automatically fix anything for us. Achieving something takes time and dedication, and I don't think we should put pressure on ourselves to achieve unrealistic New Year's resolutions that we carry from year to year.

Keep working on becoming the person you want to be, the person who can achieve your goals and create your ideal life. It takes time and effort, so let's allow ourselves a slow and steady progress towards our dreams.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you enjoyed this article, please share it on your social media and send it to someone you think will like it too!

If you enjoyed this article and would like to support me, you can send me a tip below this story, which would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for your support!