Every year right before the next begins, we all feel the need to make a list. This list happens to be the ever so popular “New Year’s Resolution” list. It usually contains goals that we want to hit within the next 365 days, including all of the things we want to give up and all of the things we want to start. It also gives us a new topic to pull out whenever we’re faced with dull conversations; so next time there’s an awkward silence, here you go.
Personally for me, it seems that in the past I never follow the list more than five days and I get left feeling sad and defeated. Every single time I decide to go with the trend of making a New Year’s Resolution List it brings a shortly lived hope. It makes me feel older and wiser and gives me a sense of productivity for that first week in January. Then that’s it, nothing else. For years now it’s been this revolving habit, a cycle that never ends and I’m tired of it.
However I would be naive if I didn't believe I was the only one who fell into this trap. Come the holiday season it seems that the two biggest things talked about are the Christmas shopping lists and the resolutions lists. All over social media we see endless posts about that beach bod that we didn't achieve last year, the relationships we didn't find, the hobby we didn't stick with, or even the trip we didn't take. Then we just say, "I guess, I'll try again next year."Change can be a good thing as long as it is something you want, not someone else wants or what the rest of our society is doing come January 1st.
We are supposed to grow over time, not overnight. Writing things down thinking that in the end we think will strip our flaws or insecurities away. Trying to force ourselves to start new things so that we can seem more interesting. We need to stop believing that this list of bullet points will make us more than what we think of ourselves. Why make something that in the long run will just end up tearing you down or discouraging you anyways?
Putting that much hope into a piece of paper or a document on our computer is senseless. Putting that much pressure on something that can so easily be thrown away or deleted is foolish. I am not being fair to myself by wishing to be different, and it is not fair to anyone of you doing the same. Wanting to be different is not the same thing as wanting to better ourselves, which is what this resolutions list should be about. And wanting to better ourselves should not be something that only comes around once a year. We should always be able to look at ourselves and see something we can improve on and we shouldn't wait until the new year rolls around to take care of it either.
So here's my new resolution! I'm saying NO to the New Year's list and saying YES to my list, which only has 3 things on it. Love yourself, learn along the way, and be happy. That's all I can ask from myself and that's all I will ask.
