It’s February, which means we’re a month into our New Years’ resolutions. Around the new year, I started seeing Tiktoks and Instagram reels about how to change your life to be “That Girl” in 2022. And honestly? I love them. I love the concept of waking up one morning and having your life together and perfectly embodying the idea of wellness.
But, changing your lifestyle overnight is nearly impossible, and more difficult to maintain. Someone who wakes up at nine in the morning will not start waking up at six and feel well rested. Someone who hardly works out will not start working out four to five times a week consistently. When you fail at one thing, it’s easier to give up.
Not to mention, being “That Girl” can be expensive. There’s a mindset that you need to have certain items to be “That Girl”, and you need to be able to fit a certain aesthetic. You don’t need a matching workout set to go to the gym. You don’t need to be vegan and eat organic to be healthy. Lots of “That Girl” TikToks recommend buying from Amazon, one of the largest and most unethical companies in the world. By turning the idea of wellness into something you need to spend money on, the current “That Girl” trend has become more and more capitalistic and less about actually growing as a person.
The trend also seems to highlight slim, white, and cis-gendered women. Seeing TikToks or Instagram posts of people who don’t fit these characteristics is rare. By promoting a standard of the “ideal woman” (i.e. slim, white, and cis-gendered), it can be incredibly discouraging for women who watch these videos and don’t see themselves represented.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to better yourself, and I’m not trying to discourage anyone from being healthier. But, taking things one step at a time is important. Add one new habit every couple of weeks, and once you’ve adjusted to that lifestyle change, add another. Forgive yourself for not meeting a goal. You need to do what’s best for you, not what’s best for someone else.
Your life will never be a perfectly edited fifteen second video. And that’s okay.