Twenty-twenty started with a big old bang, and as I grab my Bujo (for all of you stationary addicts out there: if you don’t know what this is, you haven’t lived!) and scribble down my aspirations for the New Year, I decide to change my tactic compared to previous years. So, despite the usual two-page list of things I’ll never get done, I have narrowed down this year’s list of self-appointed obligations to just three main points. Shouldn’t be too bad, should it?
Number 1. Sweat! Sweat! Sweat!
Beginning with a well worn classic, to quote Bridget Jones, “obviously, will lose 20 pounds”, a favourite of mine that has been on my resolutions list since the late 90s. As it were, every January I face the stone cold truth that, yet again, despite my best efforts to control myself, December festivities have left me squeezing into my sweatpants, elevating my state of shame and regret to something of an art form. So it is time, yet again, to regain some self-control and put the cake down. Put it down. Drop it – No don’t pick it up! Therefore, down these muddy streets a girl must walk. And along some of them, she might break into a run.
Number 2. Self-improvement
Will attempt to better myself in all the following areas of life: studying, working, meditating, cheffing, self-care, home organising, painting and habitual high-spiritedness by swearing off all things bad for health. Also, will meet all future deadlines on time and regularly buy nicer underwear. Just because.
Number 3. Socializing on One’s Own Terms!
Now this one is critical! Although it is vitally important to dedicate some free time to friends and family first and foremost, it is equally important to avoid sabotaging one’s resolutions by only engaging in activities that fail to support the achievement of personal goals. Careful not to neglect my resolutions from the very first week of January, must try engaging with the nearest and dearest in activities that are generally good for health. I’m not saying that, on occasion, a casual bar-hop isn’t exactly what the doctor ordered, because it is! But it is equally important to also try other methods of communal enjoyment. Like… well… okay, I can’t think of one right now, but I’m sure they exist!
Now, as I read my list back to myself, I’m definitely of the opinion that New Year’s resolutions do indeed serve an ultimately positive purpose. I mean, obviously, even if I were able to achieve all of these things, maintaining all of them simultaneously would be most unsustainable amidst the chaos of the day-to-day. But I do feel, however, that aspiring to something, anything at all, often keeps the mind active, the mood elevated and the body moderately supple. And here lies the magic of the New Year’s resolution, doesn’t it? Whether or not you achieve all of the goals you set yourself on January 1st, is actually irrelevant. What is important is that you try, which ultimately might lead you down a path you might not have otherwise trodden. Most of us, not affected by the January gloomies, feel exceptionally motivated (some of us aggressively so, perhaps to the point of madness!) at the approach of the new year. Therefore, it is important to ride that mechanical bull of “fresh zest for life”, bucking and twisting underneath us, for as long as we can hold on. Some of us will go the full mile, while most of us only a few steps. But we will, those of us who try, inevitably move forward with our dreams and aspirations to better ourselves. Perhaps not achieving perfection per say, being that perfection simply doesn’t exist, but achieving more than if we chose not to grab at something seemingly unattainable.
Therefore, I propose that for 2020, let us set ourselves goals that exceed our expectations while acknowledging and accepting the undeniable truth, that we will most likely fall short. But that’s okay, at least we’ll get a little closer, eh? This year, let us appreciate our true selves but still aim to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. So, from one “slightly-chubby-but-determined”–girl to the next, here’s wishing you a very happy and successful New Year!
Image credits (where credits are due):
Bridget working up a sweat (Image by Elle)
Bridget flaunting her massive underpants (Image by Cinema Fanatic)
Bridget with her ‘Bezzie Mates’ (Image by The Dramatards)
Bridget saluting all us women in need of encouragment (Image by Whimn)