A new year is a way to start over. To stop bad habits and start finding whatever it is you’ve been looking for. A new year means hope. It holds opportunities and gives you a chance to change the way you look at the world.
We have all heard the over-used phrase, “New Year, New Me.” So, please stop saying that because it means nothing and it is a thoughtless Instagram caption. When the clock hits midnight on December 31st, chances are you are the same exact person you were. Drunk and stupid.
So I’m proposing a new way to look at 2016 that doesn’t involve clichés or over-used resolutions but rather leads you to just become a better version of yourself. (Well that one was a cliché but just go with me.) In the year 2016, you get to be an improved individual by following 16 different steps that allow you to gain experience, view the world in a different way and tell your own story of who exactly it is you want to be.
1. Stop procrastinating
Procrastination can actually be a blessing in disguise because it forces us to give 100 percent of ourselves to something. But that 100 percent involves making mistakes. Instead of giving 100 percent at the very last minute, start early so you don’t just meet the minimum of your goal, but actually, achieve it entirely and feel amazing about it. I’m not saying to start writing that paper a week early because chances are you won’t (and I won’t either) but it doesn’t just apply to school. Start thinking of your future and focus on your place in the world.
2. Start thinking
This year, resolve to make better bad decisions. Learn from the mistakes you made in 2015 and start making new ones in 2016. Be adventurous. Find what gives you an adrenaline rush and go after it. Be safe. Be cautious. But most importantly, think before you repeat the same mistake you’ve made before.
3. Stop thinking
Here, I’m speaking to all of those (including myself) that suffer from anxiety. Remind yourself to breath and know that you don’t have all the answers – and neither does WebMD so PLEASE delete the app. Life isn’t perfect so don’t dwell on things for too long because you’ll end up missing out on the unpredictable but amazing world we live in.
4. Take a risk
Explore the universe. Discover what it means to accomplish something that once was your biggest fear. Staying within your comfort zone is predictable and leads to a boring life. Do something that you never thought you would ever do. I don’t mean go skydiving to cure your fear of heights but rather do a little thing each day that isn’t part of your routine. Let go of your fears and start acting on them.
5. Be afraid
We are all afraid to mess up, get your heart broken and be rejected, but each of those experiences allows you to stop being afraid of it and rather learn how to handle it. Don’t be afraid to mess up, it will only teach you how to not make that mistake again. Don’t be afraid to get your heart broken because you’ll never learn how to truly love another person. Don’t be afraid of rejection because if you are never rejected, you’ll never learn how to turn your weaknesses into strengths.
6. Be a friend
We all know what it’s like to have a bad friend – the one that is completely self-absorbed and will screw your ex-boyfriend. But have you had the friend that turns their world upside down just to listen to you obsess over the smallest details? It is time to be that friend to those that have been next to you through every moment of your life.
7. Listen
Listen to your body. Don’t push yourself to get back on the treadmill after the December food eating contest and take small steps to get back to your goal weight. Listen to the compliments your loved ones give you and stop being hard on yourself.
8. Be a leader
I don’t mean try and convince yourself you are the next President of the United States but rather start being a leader for yourself. Stop following those around you and go the other way. Learn to love doing things alone and it will become the most comfortable part of your life.
9. Fight
I don’t mean go beat up your enemy but rather reflect on every heart-breaking disaster you encountered in 2015 and learn how to let go. Let go of the past there is nothing you can do to change it. Let 2016 be the year that you fight for yourself. Remind yourself of your strength. Your ability to stand up for yourself. Remind yourself that every obstacle that came your way in 2015, you had the courage to overcome.
10. Treat yo self
Don’t join the latest diet trend and call yourself “gluten-free” because it’s the thing to do. Stop counting calories. Start eating. Start eating unhealthy foods in moderation and focus on what you want to eat rather than how you can fit in with the vegan, gluten-free, paleo, etc. crowds.
11. Be artsy
Stop filling your free time with endless Netflix binges and find a hobby that interests you. We all have talent and instead of wasting a couple hours catching up on episodes, go out and pursue your hidden dreams.
12. Travel
Get lost in 2016. Travel to a different state, town, street, anything that disrupts your daily routine. Walk a different way to work and see what is hidden on that street you’ve never walked down. You don’t need money or to hop on a plane to Europe to discover the hidden gems that surround you. Rather than visit every country you’ve ever wanted to go to, visit places in your city, town, etc. It will make you rich in ways that money never will.
13. Stop promising
Promises lead to disappointment. They lead to a lonely life. Don’t make promises to yourself or to others that you know you can’t keep. Timing is everything and good things take time to happen. Remember that you’re a human being learning how to live and promises are the one thing that holds you back from living.
14. Don’t have expectations
I’m guilty of having expectations for people and for places. I love to expect the worst because it lets me be surprised when something turns out right. Life is messy and having expectations, whether they be high or low, leads to chaos and unwanted drama. Let go of what you’re thinking about a person you’ve never met before or to that place you’ve never been. Meet them. Go there. Let yourself be surprised.
15. Lose control
Reality is something that is completely out of our control. We cannot predict the future or do something to change the inevitable but we can let go. Let go of your obsessive tendencies and stop controlling every minute, hour, even second of your day. We are all hanging on to the wild ride we call life and learning how to lose control of 2016 will lead to new opportunities.
16. Say goodbye
Say goodbye to the friends you lost, the clothes you ruined, the job you never got, the C- you earned in that class and start saying hello to the new possibilities that exist in the New Year. Say goodbye to every failure, mistake and relationship and look at how to fix those. Remember that you are your own leader and in charge of the person you want to be. You cannot control your destiny but you can pursue a successful future by saying goodbye to the negativity in 2015.
Instead of trying to completely re-invent yourself, work towards making yourself better. Explore. Dream. Work. Learn from 2015 and start succeeding in 2016.
365 days gives you 12 chapters to re-write yourself. Make sure it’s worth reading.
