New Year, New Me. Right?

"New year, new me.” “Out with the old, in with the new.” “2021 will be MY year.” (whatever that means). “Everything will be different this year, I can feel it.” “Watch out 2021, I’m coming for you.”
It’s January 2021. Desperate and sweaty resolutions fill fitness centers to max capacity and purchases for new guitars (paired with beginner lessons) are through the roof. Dry January is in full swing, and Fit February is rapidly approaching. The new year is for the kicking of old habits, and perhaps the start of new ones. Some resolutions are the tangible ones, like picking up a copy of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and through cover to cover, becoming a culinary ninja (I recently watched Julie and Julia). Some resolutions, however, are more obscure, such as deciding it is time to live life to the fullest, or to grab life by its proverbial horns.
Whatever it may be, there is something special about the beginning of a new year. A freshness to the air. Opportunities you may have not seen before are now becoming clear-thus the emergence of the resolutions. I used to think that New Year resolutions were silly; that it was somewhat of a placebo effect. People naively thinking that by shouting their resolutions into the universe, their lives would somehow actually change. Honestly, it all felt a little trivial to me.
Here’s something that I love: My comfort zone. I adore it. I want to snuggle up inside of it and never, ever leave. It’s warm, and fuzzy, and most importantly, it’s safe. I can fully admit that I am a creature of habit, and for a long time, I was just fine with that. I didn’t think that anything needed to change in my life, or maybe I just didn’t want it to. Who knows.
Last year however, out of boredom or spite (maybe both), I decided to give in and create some resolutions for myself. I took a pen and paper and wrote down several goals with the aim of accomplishing them over the course of 2020. I’m not sure exactly when or how, but somewhere along the way, I realized that it kind of worked...? It might sound like some lunatic, checklist-manifesto nonsense, but to be honest, having real goals that I have written down for myself did, in fact, change my life.
I pushed myself out of my comfort zone in more ways than one. And the best part is, it happened slowly and unknowingly. My resolution to “wake up earlier” turned into my new favorite part of the day: 7am reading with some hot coffee. Or my resolution to “be on my phone less” turned into feeling more present, more aware, and ultimately, happier. I decided to say goodbye to phones at the dinner table, notifications buzzing every 5 minutes, and the two-second text back. My one-mile runs turned into three, and diversity entered the realm of my kitchen. Did I run a marathon? Did I buy my dream car? No. (Cheers to you if you did) But I actively discovered that change is necessary. That change is good. It’s so good.

There is no better time than now to embrace a new challenge, a new opportunity, and a new year. New Year resolutions might not work for everyone, but in my opinion, it is certainly worth the try. Maybe your resolution isn’t meant to invite change, but rather to maintain an activity or a habit that you already have. Maybe your resolution isn’t necessarily about you, but what you want to do for others. Or maybe, your resolution is strictly about you, and no one else. What I realized is that there are infinite goals you can make to better yourself and your life. And with each goal, there is always an accomplishment to be made.

Written for Explore Communications on January 13th, 2021.