We’ve all fallen victim to the trap that is the proclamation “new year, new me.” Then the preceding twelve months are filled with pressure to live up to the expectation we created for ourselves. New Year’s resolutions ideally should be about growth and positivity. Instead it becomes a situation where we pick out at what we consider fatal flaws. It’s the dreaded time where friends, family, and even random people ask us what our ultimate resolutions are for the upcoming year.
I work in a liquor store and my best friend works in a salad place. Every year we notice how every January the store I work at becomes a ghost town and hers is the hottest place in town. Then comes the routine of telling people that did not complete dry January that I too have already failed my resolutions. According to research, by Feb. 1 most New Year’s resolutions are officially called off! In complete honesty, the only thing that surprises me about that information is the fact that they aren’t ditched sooner. I don’t mean to be such a downer about the whole idea, but every year I stray further and further from wanting to make any silly resolutions.
Last year I decided that perhaps the whole ordeal would seem less intimidating if I called it New Year’s goals instead of resolutions, as if the universe would see that I am being totally casual and easy going about my expectations for the year ahead and go easy on me. To be fair, I did accomplish some of my goals: more books came off my to-be-read list and I did go outside more, until the latter half of the year hit. Suddenly, I abandoned these goals.
While the terms “goals” and “resolutions” could be interchangeable, I will say from personal experience that once the pressure of the absolute is lifted, it is very easy to actually accomplish what I wanted. I explained this idea to my friend who radiates positivity (and quickly found out that she loves New Year’s resolutions) and we thought “goals” might be a happy medium. Avid movie watchers may remember the beginning of the hit Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) where the titular character is smoking a cigarette and announces that her New Year’s resolution is “to quit smoking… and stick to New Year’s resolutions.” This moment was highly relatable, but instead of smoking I was telling myself I will read even more this year while buying more books to join the ones collecting dust.
There is no problem with wanting to better yourself, the problem comes in the pressure to do so. As humans we deny ourselves simple pleasures because it might make us healthy for a bit, and we shouldn’t be embarrassed about failing these resolutions. Did you buy all those healthy ingredients to eat better? Did you sign up for that gym membership? Good job! (But also, how expensive — on average Canadians are spending approximately $252.12 on their resolutions — yikes.) Even if you didn’t do those things, you’re still doing a good job! At the end of the day a failed resolution can make you feel worse than not planning to have one in the first place, so be gentle to yourself this new year. You’re going to be fine. Have a resolution if you want, or you can join me in the anti-resolution gang where I refuse to feel bad for something I didn’t want to change about myself in the first place.
Eva Davey is a UFV student majoring in English Literature and minoring in Media Communications. She is a fan of poetry, oat milk lattes, and the final girl trope. Currently, her worst enemy is the Good Reads app.
