The world has now been in existence for two thousand and eighteen years, so I guess we owe every species that has made it this far a "congratulations." (Yes, that was a joke.) This is the time of year when everyone decides to make a big change in themselves, whether it be to lose those last ten pounds or to stop binge-watching "Phineas and Ferb." I'm sure you've done the same.
But I'm here to tell you to stop.
Stop it with the "New year, new me" tweets that don't actually mean that you intend on changing.
Stop it with the fake promises you're making with yourself. If you keep promising something that's never actually going to happen, you're going to end up letting yourself down.
But most of all, stop the mindset that the first day of a calendar year holds any more weight than the rest of it.
A year is a cycle, and just as January leads to February, December leads to January. There is no true beginning or end, just one we made up so we'd have an excuse to celebrate our continued existence as we wait for death.
And if your goal (like most people's) is to cut out something that's going to hasten your demise in the long-run, why wait to kick it out of your life?
We make a lot of bad decisions daily. We pass by people begging for a dollar without a second thought. We say something we don't mean to a loved one and don't apologize for it. We smoke that cigarette because honestly, what's that going to affect in the long run?
There's a flaw in this way of thinking: we assume we have time, but that's something that has never been guaranteed to any one of us. My grandma used to tell me that teenagers think they're invincible, but I'm starting to believe everyone else thinks that too.
But that's not true. We're limited by circumstances we can't control. I'm sorry to say this, but you might not be alive tomorrow. So why are you waiting until the first of the year to make a change?
Two thousand and eighteen years (joking, once again), and we still can't figure out how to live.
I'm not writing this just to bash everyone who breaks promises; I'm writing this as a reminder to myself to not take my own and other people's lives for granted. It's time to get rid of the idea that bettering one's self can only happen once a year.
New Year's Resolutions are infamous for their inability to initiate actual change. So if you're going to make a resolution, make it this:
When I notice something is wrong in my life, I will remedy it as quickly as I can.
Change can happen year round, but only if you let it.