2020 was, without a doubt, a long and overwhelming year; from the COVID – 19 pandemic, to an important election, economic recession and the ongoing battle against police brutality and racism. While this was happening, college students were juggling what was happening worldwide with school, family and friends. Like everyone else, I for one was ready for this year to end and to have somewhat of a fresh start going into 2021.
On New Year’s Eve, I was watching the Times Square ball drop and realized I didn’t complete any of my new year’s resolutions for this year. Again. Granted, this year was a bit unconventional compared to previous years, so I’ll give myself a pass.
However, I still have yet to fully achieve a New Year’s resolution in my 22 years of living. Every year it’s the same old promises I make to myself: eat healthier, exercise more, be more productive, be more confident and the list goes on. I did do these things sometimes but overall there wasn’t that much of a change in me where I could say I was consistent with my resolutions.
I began to really ponder as to what has withheld me in the past with following through resolutions. I’ll eat healthy for two weeks or go to the gym for weeks and then I’m back in my same old routine. I began to think why I even have to wait a full year before I had the energy to say, “Yeah, I should probably try to do this more or less of that.” That’s when I realized. I was making excuses for myself. I wasn’t holding myself accountable.
I forget easily about why I wanted to improve myself as a person until I’m doing an essay last minute or I lose points on my grade from lack of class participation. I was letting my enthusiasm disappear after two weeks because I was holding an unconscious belief that I haven’t achieved my goals before so why now?
I’ve decided to approach 2021 differently this year. I have no set New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t want my goals as a yearlong journey where I push it off and make excuses for myself. I’ve decided to take it day by day instead. I try to go to sleep earlier when I can so I can wake up to get work done earlier. I try to exercise when I have time instead of sitting on my phone scrolling through Instagram. I try to cook and bake more rather than spending money on the same meal from a restaurant.
In the end, I believe taking my goals day by day will be a lot more effective than giving myself a year to achieve a resolution when it simply becomes a more positive lifestyle for myself and others.