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I’ll be the first to say it: I hate New Year’s Resolutions. As soon as January 1st rolls around, joy flies out the window, and in its place lies MyFitnessPal, a gym membership, and whatever the newest fad diet is. Instead of embracing the new year with open arms, it feels as though everyone is moving backwards, attempting to cleanse and cut their regrets from 2025.
I’m unfortunately part of the problem, as I just signed up for a half marathon in February, but I’m beginning to learn that New Year’s resolutions can be more than a rigid cycle of self loathing. Â
While it is amazing to be able to begin the new year with tangible results and accomplishments, does approaching the new year with a fixed checklist of goals actually lead to positive change? In an era obsessed with shrinking, whether that be the rise of GLP1Â medications for weight loss or the use of generative AI tools to streamline academic output, I believe that the best thing to encourage going into the new year is growth.Â
Instead of viewing New Year’s resolutions as the hustle culture Olympics, where the objective is to do more, achieve more, and to be more than the person that you were last year, I think that they should be reframed as a means of setting intentions as opposed to deadlines. As much as adding a 5 am workout class to your calendar may feel like it will solve all of your problems, it can’t. Life is messy, chaotic, and unable to be confined to a schedule, thinking otherwise is often why resolutions fail in the first place.
I’ve personally been trying to use this more holistic approach to adjust some of the negative lifestyle habits that I have accumulated over the past year. For example, I developed a nasty little doom scrolling habit last year, which I’m trying to fix by prioritizing my personal relationships and intellectual development. I considered trying to adjust this problem by using the same all-or-nothing mentality that I’ve used for past resolutions, like forcing myself to read a certain number of books per month or creating a strict schedule to keep in touch with family. However, that was ultimately not sustainable because I felt like I was punishing myself for being imperfect instead of reshaping my bad habits.
Now, I’m approaching my resolutions by meeting myself where I’m at. Instead of pressuring myself to read a certain number of books to counteract my doomscrolling tendencies, which I know I’d abandon by midterms season, I’m reading short articles from The Cut and The New York Times. While it’s no War and Peace, I still get the same scrolling sensation, but now I’m expanding my knowledge in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming. In the same vein, I am now trying to call my parents and home town friends whenever I have free time, instead of trying to confine it to my already packed schedule.
While I was reflecting on how to grow intellectually and personally in a more sustainable way with my friends, they shared my sentiments on resolution fatigue. One of my friends was also trying to limit her screen time by placing a book on her bed. No reading checklists, calendar reminders, or Goodreads accounts were required, just a simple book. By avoiding falling into the trap of overcomplicating her resolution or treating it as another chore to accomplish, my friend has been able to get excited about reading again.
Through talking with my friends and thinking about my own resolutions, I’ve come to realize that true growth doesn’t come from wanting to change your life, but striving to improve the one that you already have. Nowadays, it can be difficult to prioritize consistency over intensity, when we are constantly inundated with 75-hard challenge content or 5 am “clean girl” morning routines. But progress isn’t linear, and the constant comparison will only lead to failure and burnout.
You’re not behind for not having super human accomplishments because the real wins come from prioritizing small improvements for your own validation. Whether that means reading an article for five minutes instead of scrolling, or making a home cooked meal instead of ordering takeout for the second night in a row. In 2026, I’m giving myself permission to grow at my own pace, to chase curiosity instead of perfection. I might not be the most productive student or voracious reader, but if I continue emphasizing the process rather than the results, someday I may get there.Â
It’s taken me 18 years to come to terms with the fact that my life is never going to be like my Pinterest vision board, but that doesn’t mean that I am going to stop trying.