We are now at the beginning of yet another year. 2018 came to a close and we’re opening another chapter in our lives.
Whenever a new year is about to roll in, we start reflecting on what we did in the past months. We remember the mistakes we made, the decisions we regret, and the accomplishments we are most proud of. We look back and see how far we’ve come, and are often surprised that some events happened within the year even though they seemed so long ago.
The most common New Year’s Resolutions are usually to live a healthier lifestyle, to save more money, and to spend more time with the family. Every time, without fail, we make these kinds of resolutions. We promise to become better versions of ourselves and then make new goals that we want to achieve.
To follow through with the resolutions, don’t just make a sweeping declaration and end it there.
Make a conscious decision every single day to take another step towards the goal. Be smart about it. Don’t set unrealistic goals and expect yourself to accomplish everything quickly because that might just discourage you to continue. It takes a lot of time to change a behavior about something, so give yourself time to change.
The concept of a new year makes us feel all sorts of emotions—excitement, sadness, perhaps even fear. We feel happy that we get another chance to do better, but we are also terrified of the unseen obstacles we might face. It seems almost daunting to think of what we may have in store for us. But why is it that we only set goals when a new year comes? Why do we only have a “fresh start” during the New Year?
The thinking behind resolutions is that because it’s the first day of the year, we make it the first day towards our goals too. The truth is, every day is a new chance to do something right. It might give us the illusion that starting a goal on January will make it easier to track, but that’s just another excuse to delay things.
We like the concept of New Year because it gives us the feeling of renewal and the sense that we can start again, but we don’t have to wait for another year to begin. We’re just giving ourselves more time to continue doing the bad habit or putting off what it is we hope to achieve.
We should change our mentality about accomplishing our resolutions. Making a resolution shouldn’t be about immediate success. The important thing to remember is to always choose progress over perfection.
Yes, you feel like you’re taking such small steps every day, but by the end of the year, you’ll see that you’ve actually come so far already. You are helping yourself get one step closer to your target. Don’t just be happy when you achieve your goal—be proud of yourself every step of the way.
More importantly, if we have resolutions we want to achieve, so do other people. We may be getting tired of seeing acquaintances and friends come up with the same resolutions every year to no effect, or even annoyed with the “New Year, New Me” posts. In the same manner that they support us with our resolutions, we should learn to support them with theirs.
Like us, they’re only trying to become better versions of themselves, and we become better people too by lifting them up. Instead of pulling each other down, we should encourage others and believe in their capability to achieve their own goals.
You wouldn’t let anyone bring you down now, won’t you?
