Along with the New Year come a bunch of resolutions that we all set for ourselves in order to become the person we wish to be. The most common goals include shedding off those extra pounds, quitting bad habits like nicotine, junk food, or even our failure to treat our bodies as they should be treated. Part of the reason these resolutions are made is that we view the upcoming year as a clean sleight that gives us the opportunity to leave bad habits behind. However, while trying to achieve these goals we tend to forget that we are humans and part of being human is having setbacks and making mistakes. We are often too harsh on ourselves when it comes to achieving these resolutions and in doing so, rather than let ourselves off the hook for our mistakes, we quit and leave our goals behind.
Though this 2020 is the perfect time to turn ourselves into the person we wish to be, we must also remember that this year has come with open arms that welcome mistakes and setbacks. It is a year for learning and for self-growth. Change cannot be made from one day to another, change and the riddance of bad habits is a journey in which each day and with each failure we are one step closer to achieving our goals.
If what you want is to get in shape or eat healthily, remember that our bodies too need a break. It is okay to have a cheat day in which you sit on the couch and eat junk food, there is no need to guilt ourselves out of that and there is even less reason to think that a couple of mistakes mean that we have already failed. We are allowed to fall as long as we know how to pick ourselves back up and move right on forwards.
This New Year, I hope everyone listens to their bodies and their needs. I hope we all learn that a big part of existence is imperfection and failure. We learn best through experience and mistakes, because we can only go up from there, we can only learn how to not make those same mistakes again. Your goals this year should be to become the person you know you can be; your goal should be You. Life is a learning game and who can teach you your limits and how to embrace and overcome your flaws better than you? As January comes to an end and we prepare for the upcoming month, remember this and pick up where you left off until you find you are right where you need to be.