We've all heard the phrase, "new year, new me." But why? Why is this phrase so popular? What was really so wrong with me last year? I'm sure there are some things we'd all like to tweak about ourselves, but when the clock strikes midnight and 2017 rolls around, do I really want to become a new person?
No, I don't want to become a new person. 2016 was what it was. I am who I am because of it. I want the choices I made to linger into next year. Since I made some bad ones, as we all do, I want to fix them this year. I want to fix them even if it's not a new year. I don't want to feel like I need a new year as an excuse for new actions, thoughts, or results. I mean, sure, I'm definitely into attainable resolutions like working out more, eating less chocolate (just kidding) and being more patient with the ones I care about, but I don't want to write down resolutions this year.
Instead, I want this year to modify me as it seems fit. I want to change despite the year or day. The changes that I want take time, they aren't changes made because I heard someone yell "Happy New Year," or simply because I wrote them down earlier in the week. These are things that will happen throughout this year, but not on January 1st, and certainly not at midnight. I want to grow closer to loved ones, learn more about what this world has to offer, and experience this life that is only mine. I want to form into whoever 2017 makes me; not what I wrote down on a piece of paper.
The important changes are not conscious changes. I will change because it is inevitable, but not because I promised myself I will be different on January 1st. I want long-lasting results, which is a process that will occur throughout the year based on whatever life throws me. I can't write these changes down or tell someone about the new person I want to become without knowing the circumstances I will be in. No one can predict that.
It truly is so important to recognize that changes don't occur overnight. In order to make changes, I have to change because I want to, not because it is a new year and it is expected of me to create resolutions that I will fulfill for the first two weeks of January before I fall back into my normal habits. What if I like my normal habits anyway?
So, here's to the "new year, same me" folks. The ones who are happy with who they are and are on their way to becoming who they want to be without changing specific details about themselves. Instead, these people are taking 2017 by the reins. They are adjusting and embracing whatever this new year throws them, simply by being themselves.
