New Year’s Resolutions are all the hype from December 30th to (about) January 10th. You can find them all over social media. From drink more water to write a novel and lose 25 pounds, self-improvement is everywhere. For the past several years, I have listed out my resolutions then promptly forget about them. My Dreams and Schemes journal is like a graveyard of all my failed resolutions. Everyone has heard that most people abandon their resolutions by February, but is that really the case? I always wonder whether I’m in the majority or minority.
Image from Forbes
To try something different, I decided to reject the concept of New Year’s Resolutions. Instead of squishing my self-improvement into the calendar year, I’ve opened up to the concept of continuously revolving. I used to make goals in my bullet journal that would say “make $150 on Poshmark by March 1” or “create 3 paintings by Easter Sunday.” To say it kindly, this has never worked for me. If this works for you, that’s amazing and you should continue to do it. On the other hand, if your resolutions flop maybe you should join me in the Great Mindset Shift of 2020 (trademark pending).
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In lieu of official resolutions, I decided to keep areas I want to improve on in the forefront of my mind. I know that I would like to eat healthier and improve my punctuality, so I try to recalibrate once in a while to ensure I’m staying on track. If you are someone who constantly applies unnecessary pressure to yourself, I recommend a more informal approach to resolutions. I guess my only official goals are to stay motivated and avoid burnout.
Image from Happify
Don’t get me wrong, self-improvement is the spice of life. I’m not advocating to stifle your personal growth or become *extra* lazy in 2020, I just want to banish the negativity that comes with not achieving certain goals. If you only write a book of short stories and not a whole novel, it’s not the end of the world. Beginning to shift your perception of achievement will (hopefully) help you stay on track and not get discouraged. It is working for me so far, but I will update you on my progress later this semester and in the meantime, good luck!