It’s that time of year my journal hates to see coming: It’s almost New Year’s … again! And what do we do for New Year’s? We make resolutions that we will ultimately fail to accomplish. Too ambitious, then too disappointed? You’re not alone of course, but seriously — what’s the deal with all this pressure?Â
I’m of two minds when it comes to resolutions. One side of my brain feels rather pessimistic: resolutions feel urgent in January, but when the following December rolls around and I’m lacking results, I feel foolish. There’s so much pressure to self-punish in order to see results — new diets or tough exercise regimens thrive on self-loathing — and so many resolutions feel like they’re destined to fail due to inevitable short lifespans. Some are so unrealistic that they’re guaranteed to be a major let-down; I always set my expectations too high, and when there is no one to blame but myself for their failure, the sting is that much worse. These resolutions tend to be made in order to prove something — but prove something to who? We don’t need to change ourselves, but we should feel comfortable in wanting to strive toward personal goals.Â
The other side of my brain is rather reflective and sentimental when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. I think of New Year’s as a time to review the past year’s fond memories and look forward to the excitement of the coming year. There’s something very human about wanting to create resolutions for ourselves, so why deny it entirely? I think we should want to improve and grow as people, so really, making resolutions is exercising that part of our humanism. There really is no harm in motivating yourself to improve; the real problem is how we treat ourselves when we fail. In my opinion, the internal pressure is where we go wrong.Â
This year, I am working to set resolutions that enhance my self-growth. I know it sounds cheesy, like another quest bound to fail when the goal is exactly the opposite, but I think that this sets a realistic baseline. Self-growth can be anything, major or minor, and therefore sets you up to succeed. Every year brings something new — something to learn from, a story to tell — and every year provides room for growth. So, if we enable ourselves to give credit to the minor achievements, the major will feel even more significant.Â
I propose we create our own personal parameters around what makes the journal of resolutions. My philosophy is: make you feel like you. Choose goals that enhance who you are at your core, changes that will make you internally rich.Â
To achieve this, we should work to evaluate every resolution we intend to make, striving for goals that make us feel good along the way, not just when (that’s right, when!) we reach the end goal. I want to focus this year’s resolution on claiming goals that motivate me to make me feel like myself — getting into nature, re-read my favourite book, enjoying live music, learn something new, spending quality time with friends, game nights, and cooking more. I want to focus on things that seem obvious and achievable, but that I neglect when things get busy, ultimately depriving myself of what I love. These small victories will add up to a year of success to look back on when next New Year’s rolls around and the reflection process begins all over again.
I am sure all of this sounds super cheesy — maybe even delusional. I intend to be progressive, but maybe I’m gearing up for another backslide … In reality, I’m just trying to be light-hearted with it. Striving for things that make you happy while not putting too much pressure on yourself is no easy feat. But if we start when the year is new and things are at their most fresh, we might just stand a chance.Â
So, I say we embrace the New Year’s reflection period and resolution frenzy — it’s all part of the journey. Get a little poetic with it; let the sappy feelings rejoice!
Happy New Year’s everyone, and cheers to the next.Â
