My Very Relevant, Very Cliche New Years Resolutions

Everyone makes them at some point in their life; be it giving up smoking, going to the gym, or even going vegan. For a specific amount of time at the beginning of each calendar year a vast majority of people in developed, capitalist society will base most if not all their decisions on the one resolution they really mean to keep. “This is the year.” they say, “I never really wanted to do this before but now I’m ready.” And for that specific amount of time we support one another, encourage and truly believe in the resolutions made when we’re three bottles of wine down and the fireworks have just stopped. Gradually, of course, reality kicks in that the gym is just too much of a hassle to get to, that the stop smoking gum doesn't work, and giving up meat turns out to be a lot harder when they just opened that new steak house in town. For most people, and most resolutions, the promises we make for the year ahead get lost in the bad Monday’s and the boozy Saturday’s…followed by many a hungover, greasy Sunday.

Now all generalisation, negativity and joking aside, I am going to assign myself some New Year Resolutions and I’m going to make damn sure I try stick to them. The key is, I have realised, that our deals made with the past versions of ourselves, in order to better the future versions, is achievability. Obviously it makes our resolutions seem far more mundane and usually ignites the question of ‘“What change will that make to your lifestyle?” Yes, it’s true, many of the goals I set for 2018 will be mundane and by this time next year there might not be any remarkable change outwardly. This is extremely irrelevant, the critics around you are extremely irrelevant. It is the goal you set, however big or small which matters, because in the end we don't notice the Earth gradually moving around the sun but the small knowledge that it does comforts us and is vastly more important to our understanding of the universe. Much like the Earth, the small steps each and every person makes, for themselves or for others, has a much greater impact than the actual act. 

Once I came to this realisation, making my own resolutions became my biggest hurdle. What did I want to change? How was I feasibly going to alter my life for the better? There are the cliches: stop smoking, stop drinking, get fit, stop shopping. Reflecting on these popular choices however, I realised I didn't really want to stop smoking or drinking, I had no great desire to lose weight and find a sport; what I really wanted was to maintain my mental health, find new ways to be happy, do things which made me happier, spread the happiness I had started to discover in the latter half of the previous year. I don’t mean to suggest that my own goals should be yours too, because some people don’t need to focus on happy right now, they just need calm and stability, just as others don't generally need to look after their mental health the way I do; but if you do take something from my goals, let it be that this is a vague structure, with room for change and flexibility to suit you throughout the coming year, for whatever is thrown at you. 

My goals. They were a little more like a ladder leading to my very vague ends. Each rung was a smaller everyday task I would try and complete in order to climb to the next step and eventually, hopefully, in 365 days I would look down at where I started and be proud of taking even just one step higher. When I describe them as everyday tasks I hope to neutralise my resolutions, normalise them so I do not feel daunted or overwhelmed. So yes, everyday I will try for even twenty minutes of extra exercise will mean an energised body and energised mind, be it a walk in the park or actually attending the gym. Similarly, one day a week I will aim to forget about my studies, blot them out so I can remind myself I need rest and time to play just as much as I need time to work. In a greater step up I will slowly and steadily start to reduce my intake of artificial sugars, aim to reduce the amount of junk food that I unconsciously allow to enter body every month (not completely stamping these unhealthy foods however…sometimes you just need chicken nuggets, deep fried cheese and a whole lot of ice cream). Outwardly, I realise that if I want to be happy, and make the world around me a happier place I have to surround myself with people who intellectually, emotionally and spiritually enrich my life, and vice versa. Luckily in the past months my self awareness has allowed me to begin this but there is still the issue of eradicating pessimism from my everyday; with growing self awareness and a chain of supportive links thinking positive will always rest in the back of my mind. I hope as the months progress these small steps become just as much a part of my daily routine as brushing my teeth and drinking water. They are tasks which I believe will integrate themselves subtly and with ease into my lifestyle, as long as I welcome the possibility of them with the same optimism we all have in the first half of January. 

You will I am sure, have noted that I will not be giving up smoking or drinking and these vices will follow me into 2018, still as terrible as before. Every person needs their vice, every strength has a weakness and for now I will continue these vices. Perhaps one day, I’ll take a much greater leap up the ladder to a better me.