New Year's Day is a day on which the earth's entire population makes false promises to themselves, which are all usually soon broken a few weeks into the new year. While the idea of a "fresh start" may sound nice, the reality is that your actions and habits during the previous year do not simply disappear at midnight. Owning up to your past mistakes and letting go is much different than expecting them to be forgotten because there is a new number atop your calendar.
Old habits are hard to break and trying to break them all at once is not being fair to yourself. You deserve to live the best life you can, starting right now. No matter when "now" is in the calendar year, change is not limited to January 1.
Here are just some of the resolutions you've most likely made:
1. Becoming a health nut
There's a reason that television networks bombard you with advertisements for gym memberships as you await midnight's arrival: to prey upon the weak, easily influenced viewers who swear that this year is the year that they finally get in shape. Don't change up your diet and start hitting the gym because the clock struck 12, do it because you want to engage in and maintain a healthy and happy lifestyle.
Also keep in mind
that being healthy doesn't mean all of a sudden cutting out all the
foods that make you happy and live on lettuce for the rest of your life; moderation is key, people. If you go into it
with a negative attitude, you will be setting yourself up for failure.
Slow changes will prevent you from dropping that resolution mid-January
and finding yourself in a pool of sugar and regret.
2. Putting yourself out there
This should not be something that starts at the beginning of a new year.
Acquiring and improving one's social skills is valuable. Don't wait
to get out there.
3. Trying harder in school
This hardly needs an explanation ... but grades don't magically start to matter in the spring semester kids.
4. Get organized
As someone who personally despises clutter, waiting until the new year to clean up would quite possible kill me. If there's a mess, take care of it. Bored? Try cleaning out your closet and donate those clothes you never wear to someone who will really appreciate them.
5. Stop procrastinating
We all struggle with this from time to time and it is probably one of the hardest habits to break. Don't wait until next semester to start doing your work on time.
6. Spend more time with your family
Don't treat appreciating the people that have been there for you since day one as a chore; they deserve unconditional love.
7. Drink more water
This may come as a shock, but your body does not suddenly need hydration once the new year arrives.
8. Put the phone down
In a technology-crazed world, it can be hard to instantly resort to check imaginary text messages in the midst of an awkward situation or mindlessly check Twitter for the hundredth time during periods of boredom. I am certainly guilty of this, as I'm sure most of us are, but it is important to stop using our phones and/or social media as a crutch.
They are both great things, but anything in excess is not good. Instead of Snapchatting every second of your New Year's Eve gathering, try soaking up the experience for a bit (it is possible to have fun at a party without informing the entire world that you're at one, I promise).
The bottom line is waiting for January 1 to better yourself as a person is just silly. Not only does it put a massive amount of pressure on your new lifestyle, but you could have been incorporating those changes into your daily life for months prior to the big day. If you want to go to the gym in October, do it. If you want to clean out your room and organize your life in May, do it.
If you want to become an overall more productive member of society in August, by all means do it. All of the things listed are fantastic to aspire to and should be in the back of our minds on a daily basis. If you want to make a change, make one. Set goals for yourself, but remember you don't need to wait for the ball to drop in order to get the ball rolling.
Also, PLEASE do your Instagram followers a favor and do not, under any circumstances, use the caption "new year, new me."
