With the New Year just beginning, many can’t help but think back on our previous resolutions and the ones we’ll make this year. But I’m here to tell you this: you don’t need this one day to determine your goals for the rest of the year. You can start resolutions at any time. Although this tradition might seem recent or modern, it actually began about 4,000 years ago through the Babylonians. Julius Caesar was the one to mark January 1st as the beginning of the year, although their resolutions looked a little bit different from ours. It was a day to think about their past mistakes or faults and find ways to be better. Although times are different, I think we can use this and apply it to our own lives and goals.
Every year we create this long list of things we want to accomplish, whether they’re small or big. I think we get lost within that and put so much focus into it that we often forget to look around and just enjoy where we are at the moment. There’s so much pressure and stress put into this one day on completing a list in a strict timeline, and that’s not fair to do to ourselves. Society has created this concept that we need to have everything figured out, or we need to be in our best form, by a certain time. But there’s no rush; we’ll get there eventually.
The truth is, we don’t have to have everything figured out. What makes us so special is that we are constantly changing, and we can definitely change a lot within one year. If there’s anything we can take from this year, it’s that life is unexpected and ever-changing. As much as we try to plan out our lives, we don’t know what the next day holds. What we wanted at the beginning of the year we might not want anymore, and that’s ok. That’s why we can start goals at any moment, not just on this one day.
With that being said, we shouldn’t use this day as an excuse to delay our goals. Although many of us joke around and say, “well, I’ll try again next year!” it’s just an excuse not to do what you really want. You are in control, and you can change your life at any moment you want. Goals allow us to take charge of ourselves and pursue our passions. But we still have to remember to accept the mistakes we’ll make along the way and enjoy the small things in life.
I admit to being guilty of making resolutions in previous years and not completing them. However, this year I want to try something a little bit different. Instead of creating a list of things I probably won’t complete, I just want to work on being the best possible version of myself and dive into doing what I truly love. However, I think I would consider this a lifelong goal and a journey. We have to be more gentle with ourselves and listen to our bodies more. It’s important to be present in our everyday lives, and 2020 has definitely shown us this. Life is so unpredictable, and we don’t know what might happen in a day or even a year, so appreciate where you are. What resolutions will you be making this year?