New Year’s Resolutions—we’ve all made them. And we’ve all abandoned them within the first two months (or days). If we’re honest with ourselves, we do it for the novelty of the attempt.Every time January comes ‘round, it’s like we’ve all agreed to host a public speaking event having done zero preparation: there’s a whole lot of hope and not much of a plan. Whatever happens, happens. But this year, the choices (unrealistic or otherwise) are limited. It’s not exactly the right time to resolve to get out more, try something new every day, eat better, burn calories, cultivate a healthier love life, or embark on a new career. With so much going on in the world, surviving every day is the, dare I say only, goal.
Then again, it does feel good to make resolutions. So, here’s a few ideas inspired by the stop, start, continue technique that has become so popular in the tech/startup world.
Stop.
Stop listening to content that makes you feel like you’re not enough. For two reasons. One, who are you trying to be enough for, anyway? Two, all of this not enough-ness is just coming from one big infomercial. If you want to change something in your life, do it. But if it comes from a place of guilt, don’t. Your weight, your skin, your style, your interests, your habits, your diet, your choice. Speaking of—stop micromanaging your life. You’re not a piece of technology that can be updated every few months. Nor should you aspire to be. Keeping a routine is one thing, expecting yourself to have everything done yesterday or stick to a military-style schedule can only lead to a bad case of acne.
Start.
Start listening to yourself. Your mind, body, and soul talk to you all the time. You already know what’s best for you, you don’t need any type of influence or influencer to show you the way. If it’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, it’s that we never really give up on the ideas we’ve always wanted to try. And that most of the time, we don’t even need to be good at them. Just look at how many people wanted to bake, knit, bike, and paint but never were alone long enough to give it the time.
Continue.
Continue working on relationships that are good for you. In a world where our friends post less and less because, well, every day is very much the same, reaching out is often more than welcome. We all need our social fix and so far, 2021 is looking a lot like2020, stuck-at-home-wise. Though we’re spending up to 90% of our day living life through screens, being connected continues to be important and shared laughter continues to be necessary. Even if it’s as simple as watching something together, do it. This year, it’s not the amount of time you spend, type of conversation you have, or accomplishments you can share—it’s the togetherness that counts.
