Buying Into New Year's Resolutions

Five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year! The New Year, 2022, is just around the corner. It seems like it was just yesterday that the leaves began transforming into beautiful fall colors before making their journey off the tree and to the ground. Now, it’s almost mid-December which means that in a blink of an eye, this holiday will be right at our doorstep. 

Attempting To Understand

For many people, this holiday has become rooted in tradition, celebration, and carries significant meaning. However, I never understood why the New Year has become this almighty turning stone for so many people across the globe. I see that, in one regard, the New Year becomes a time to get together, haul out all the clutter from your house, stay up late and eat unhealthy foods to watch a speck “drop” on a television screen. However, the other side to this is that there is an overwhelmingly large group of people that regard this holiday so highly. I surely failed to understand why for so many people they saw within the counting down of seconds, major changes in their life.

Opportunities Beyond January 1st

Undoubtedly, I understand that this can be a positive thing; to utilize the New Year to set goals for ourselves whether that be to pick up a hobby, study more in school, or just be a more optimistic person. However, what I dislike about this conception of New Year is I believe it communicates to people that this is the only time they should reflect on their life and set goals for themself. By all means, if you would like to jump into 2022 with a goal that is going to motivate you, then go for it. But don’t think that you can’t revise that goal, or make numerous other goals throughout the remainder of the year. We should strive to try to better ourselves throughout the year, not just on January 1st. The opportunities before you are truly endless. 

Choosing Resolutions

The other potentially problematic component of resolutions is that they can reinforce negative social pressure. Truthfully, I think the most common New Year's Resolution I hear revolves around “dropping thirty pounds” or, more generally, losing weight. While being healthy is something that I think most of us agree is a positive thing, I don’t think it should be a decision you make because society says you need to make a resolution at New Year’s, and if you don’t look a certain way based on some arbitrary standard then that is what you should base your goal around. Maybe you're not a size four, but you would benefit from a goal to spend more time doing things for yourself as an attempt to better your mental health rather than emphasizing physical health when you very well may be healthy. The point being, that if you choose to make a New Year’s resolution you should pick something that you believe will positively affect your life. The resolution should be for you and should be rooted in the positive rather than the negative. 

My Plans

With all that in mind, I will not be buying into this process of choosing a New Year’s resolution. I will, however, begin working towards a goal I set for myself back in August. I never make time for myself to read and I’d like to change that. However, with life and school getting in the way, I haven’t been able to dive into my books. That said, I still won’t buy into making a resolution unless the timing is right and it makes sense with my goals but it certainly won’t be due to a societal obligation. After all, my goals will have more of a chance to be achieved if the goals themselves are meaningful and purposeful to me. 

Conclusion

Ultimately, when 1:01 am on January 1st approaches, you have a decision to make. Will you make a resolution because you have to or because it will help you better your life? Will you succumb to negative peer pressure or will you pick something truly meaningful to you? Or will you scrap that all together and set goals for yourself whenever you please, rather than solely before January 1st? You may have numerous reasons for syncing your goals with the calendar. If so, then you should do what’s best for you. Or, if you are unsure of how this process benefits you, try setting a goal for yourself at a different time of the year.  Regardless of what you choose to do, try to keep in mind the pros and cons of making your decision. Truly it’s up to you! Nevertheless, may your New Year be safe, happy, and healthy. 

Image obtained from Squarespace