New year, N̶e̶w̶ ̶m̶e̶

We have all said or heard it, A new year, a new me. We have built up extravagant resolutions about the new me. In with the new, and out with the old. We sit down to plan the new us, the person we wish we were and the person we believe that the people around us would like even more. We spend the very first hours of the new year contemplating how to become a better human, only for us to spend the very last hour of that same year contemplating on how we never reached those very “simple” goals that we had planned out in the beginning of the year. Is this really the best way to end a year? By criticizing yourself, and to start another year in that very same way? Every year, billions of people make resolutions, deciding to be a better human for the next year. Nine out of ten times, however, the resolutions fail and contribute to the year being classified as a failure. Does it really have to be that way?

The most common new year resolutions are: more exercise, improving your diet, losing weight and saving money. These resolutions are considered decisions rather than wishes. You are supposed to exercise more in the next year, supposed to eat more greens, lose X pounds and save Y dollars per month. These decisions are considered set in stone and therefore often bound to disappoint yourself. According to the famous and well known magazine Forbes, the most distinct reasons as to why New Year's resolution fail are because (1) It’s your consciousness that needs to change before your behavior can change, (2) You don’t have an accountability structure to help you sustain change, (3) You are actually scared of, and completely resistant to, achieving this big goal, and you won’t let yourself. And although I do agree with some of these, I firmly believe that the main reason why new year's resolutions tend to fail are because of your expectations.

With that said, I am in no way encouraging you to have as low expectations as possible, because that will not be good either. However, changing your New Year's resolutions to New Year's wishes, could not hurt. Instead of deciding to exercise more, eat more vegetables, lose X pounds and save Y dollars, wish that you’ll be able to exercise as much as possible (AND HEALTHY!!), try to eat healthier (not skinnier), the wish to lose X pounds should only be wished if you have medical assistance, because life is way more than to be thinner. If you wish to lose some pounds focus on being healthier instead of focusing on losing weight or inches and if that isn’t possible seek medical assistance, to decrease the chance of losing weight in an unhealthy manner. Wish to save Y dollars each month instead of Y dollars at the end of the year. In order for your resolution to succeed, you have to be persistent and realistic. Avoiding sugar for a whole year for the first time, saving 70% of your income and running three miles a day won’t work. Realistic goals are the key. No one knows yourself better than you, figure out what you actually can handle and wish instead of force yourself those things at the start of the new year.

Realistic and persistent wishes might be the thing that changes your insufficient and redundant resolutions that only lead to you being miserable at the end of each year. There is no need to criticize yourself and who you were only because you failed to fulfill some lame resolution. The year is not about fulfilling promises to yourself, focus on living in the present instead, because there is no need bending yourself backwards to save money or lose X pounds if this is the year you die. Focus on taking care of yourself and the people that you love. 2022 will have a lot to offer and missing it just to focus on your resolutions isn’t worth it. This new year doesn’t need to be a “new year, new you”. You are enough as you are!

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We at Promislittledomuch wish all of you a wonderful new year and hope that this year becomes better than these previous years. Thank you all for frequently reading our blog posts and for supporting our CAS project.