This is a response to I Removed 200 People From My Friends List And It Was A Good Thing
The start of the new year is exciting for sure, but it’s also tough. The pressure of making resolutions and changes to your life is encouraged by family, friends, trends, companies, and especially social media. Videos about how to have a glow-up, what products to buy, and what workouts to try, have been flooding my TikTok since before the new year even started. I won’t lie, I am a sucker for a good slideshow of what goals people have for the year and how they plan to accomplish them. But instead of falling into this path of pressure to change dramatically and immediately, what if we took baby steps that would truly benefit us as ourselves?
Resolutions don’t have to be huge, intimidating goals that seem to loom over you throughout the year. They can be - the sky’s the limit! But for me, I’ve found that establishing a routine where I reflect on the goals I want to achieve during the year and work toward my goals one day at a time works better. Rather than throwing yourself into a menacing routine to accomplish your goal as soon as possible, consider coming up with a strategy that’s consistent and a starting point that’s accessible to you at this moment.
Perhaps you want to want to have more productive, intentional screen time, surrounding yourself with messages that benefit you rather than make you anxious or stressed. Similar to what the author discussed in their article, creating boundaries with those on social media that share posts and opinions that attack your identity or make you feel uncomfortable is a great starting point. Doing a social media cleanse for whatever reason, especially by surrounding your feed with positive and safe content, can truly make an impact on how you spend your time on these apps and how you feel afterward. A strategy that’s consistent would be choosing the apps that you most enjoy and prioritizing those while limiting your overall use of your phone. Letting go of this idea of perfectionism online can allow you to have a better experience when browsing your favorite apps.
For me, letting go and doing a social media cleanse means intentionally choosing who I should follow as well as adding beneficial apps to my phone and making them more accessible than the apps that suck me into multiple-hour scrolling sessions (ahem, TikTok and Instagram). An example is a habit tracker app, which tracks the habits that you would like to achieve for the year and reminds you to make time for them. For me, this includes reading and meditating every morning! Allowing yourself to let go of negative people, habits, and vibes while beginning new relationships and practices can be daunting, but is totally achievable and worth it.
Having a road map - with a starting point and a path to achieve your resolution - will ensure that you’re doing your best at your own pace, without pressure from others. Want to get all A’s this year? Study a bit for your classes every day. Want to learn how to cook and make healthy meals? Establish a time in your weekly schedule to shop at the grocery store and do meal preparation. Remember to do what’s best for you and what will positively impact you the most. You’re amazing the way you are and you don’t need a glow-up! If you have goals you want to accomplish this year, remember to take baby steps and do what feels right - you got this!
