I’m sure we’re all tired of the same old resolutions year after year: going to the gym, eating healthier, getting outside more, and so forth. While there’s nothing wrong with goals such as those, how often do we end up achieving them? The reality is that people change a lot in a year. No one is the same person after 365 days of challenges, experiences, and growth, so concrete resolutions can be difficult to follow through with. That being said, we should aim for aspirations that grow and change alongside us, and inspire us to be the best we can be no matter the circumstances. This is because 2024 is the year of nurturing.
To nurture means to care deeply for something and foster its development. We can nurture anything we want to. These could be categories of our lives that are changing. New hobbies and interests can arise as we lose sight of the old ones. Friends and partners can come and go, and even the relationships we maintain can shift dynamically. During our college years, we are constantly exposed to new ideas. This continually changes the way we perceive the world and ourselves.
Despite the changes we face in life, there can be room for nurturing. For instance, if I find a new craft or sport that interests me halfway through the year, I nurture it! When I make new friends whom I feel connected to in class, I nurture those relationships! Even though the situation’s changing, the resolution’s staying the same. There’s no guilt in breaking the streak that’s typically associated with resolutions. So as long as I’m working towards growth, there’s nurturing being done.
So, what does nurturing look like, exactly? That’s up to you. By identifying what you want to nurture, you can find strategies for your growth. For instance, I want to nurture my writing abilities. Therefore, I’m aiming to write a new line that I find interesting every day. If this strategy doesn’t work, I’m free to change it up and try something new, or scrap it altogether and nurture another interest of mine. That’s the magic of it; we can change the action at any time and still follow through on the same resolution we start with. It’s all about finding something (or someone) that makes us feel good and grounded and cultivating it into something wonderful.
With each new year, there’s so much pressure for self-improvement. It can be overwhelming and disappointing when we fail to follow through on our lofty New Year’s resolutions. Concrete ones can keep us tethered to the person we were on Jan. 1, limiting us from discovering who we have the potential to become. Striving for change is what can help move us forward. By focusing on goals that are fluid and growing as we grow, we can set ourselves up for success and satisfaction every year. Nurturing the aspects of ourselves that we want to can allow us to move towards meaningful change.
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