The new year is quickly approaching and like many other people, I'm excited for a clean slate. I'm ready to start new classes and see what life has in store for me in the coming months. This also means that my social media feeds will once again be filled with "new year, new me" posts detailing how they are going to completely change their life starting January 1st, 2019.
I've never been a huge fan of "New Year resolutions". Maybe it's because I think that they kind of set us up for failure by putting so much pressure to change as soon as the clock strikes 12. It could also be that I don't think that the only time to make major life changes is with the coming new year. If you find yourself with a lifestyle that you don't want, then change it - doesn't matter if it's January 1st or October 23rd.
Making any changes, especially "life-altering" ones, takes practice and time. There is nothing wrong with wanting to live a different or healthier life when the new year comes, but make sure it's because you actually want to do it. I've seen too many people make huge claims about how they're going to completely fix their life and then a week later they're back to their old ways. I'm in no way saying you can't have slip ups but some don't even try. Or they try for a little bit, get bored or annoyed that no one cares, and go completely backward.
If you want to lose 20 pounds in 2019, go ahead. Striving to travel to 3 different countries? Cool, hop on the plane! Want to learn Swahili? Awesome, better get studying. Can we please stop making ridiculous goals just because? Don't stress yourself out because you set an unrealistic goal that you now realize might be quite impossible to meet. You don't have to jump on the "new year, new me" train if you don't feel ready to. Set goals and meet the requirements as it pertains to you. Stop worrying about what everyone else thinks. Who cares if it takes you 2 years to lose 20 pounds and some girl on Instagram 6 weeks?
I'm so tired of people setting themselves up to fail and then getting upset that they did. You need to first understand yourself and then set deadlines and meet goals, preferably realistic ones. Don't be so hard on yourself. You don't have to be like everyone else. Stop making, quite honestly, stupid new year resolutions because you want to post about it. Young adults have a tendency to live for everyone else but themselves.
So lose 20 pounds, travel to 3 countries and become fluent in Swahili, or don't. Do it for you and no one else. Sometimes we fail and don't even come close to objectives, that's okay. I feel as though we get upset over unmet goals not because we didn't meet them but because we told others we would. It's no one's business but your own. So stop setting yourself (and your Instagram followers) up for failure. Instead, keep it to yourself or only tell close friends and family. Let them encourage you instead of the need for popularity and attention from complete strangers. Whatever you end up doing, just don't tell me, because I don't want to hear it especially when I know you won't keep it.
