Lose weight, find a boyfriend, get a better job; all of these have been one of my New Year’s resolutions at one point or another; however, just like for many others, my ambition to keep these resolutions typically dies off around mid-February, leaving my resolutions as a distant memory until Jan. 1 of the next year. Year after year of half-completed, or totally failed, resolutions have led me to believe that New Year’s resolutions really aren’t worth all of the hype.
New Year’s resolutions are highly overrated. Realistically, nothing magical will happen on New Year’s Eve at the stroke of midnight; you’ll still be the same person you were only moments ago. Yet, New Year’s resolutions remain so common. Every year, thousands of people convince themselves that this will be their year. Though these resolutions may seem like a great source of motivation to start the year off with, they can end up making your entire year feel like a bust if you can’t reach your goal.
The start of a new year may seem like the perfect time for a fresh start, a new chance to better oneself. But why should Jan. 1 be the only time you actively try to improve the quality of your life? Jan. 1 is probably the worst day you could choose to begin a major lifestyle change. You wake up after a long night of partying to ring in the New Year, and you have to drag yourself out of bed and convince yourself that today’s the day you’ll start going to the gym or go out and hunt for a new job. Yeah, right. Adding the stress of a resolution to your life while trying to get back into the swing of things after the holidays just can’t end well.
However, the main problem with these resolutions is that they imply that there has to be something you want to change about yourself; it’s not enough to be content with yourself anymore. New Year’s resolutions are very trendy and just about everyone makes at least one every year. The trend of New Year’s resolutions makes it seem like you have to find something about yourself that you dislike and want to change, year after year.
But after abstaining from making resolutions for a few years, I’ve found that I’m much happier and more relaxed at the start of the year, and if later on in the year I find something I want to change in my life, I can start whenever I please. Long gone are the days of saying, “I’ll do this next year,” and putting off resolutions simply so they could be used next year.
Whether it is tradition or superstition that drives thousands of people to make these resolutions, we may never know. But this is one custom that we should all start next year without. New Year’s resolutions may seem like a fun way to kick off the start of a new year, but in the long run, they definitely aren’t worth your time. A new year doesn’t always have to mean a new you.
