Resolutions: Let’s Be Real

Truth be told, I love the few days before and after New Years, just because there is so much energy and potential buzzing around the new year. The past few days I haven’t really been on top of the whole blog thing, as I’ve been hard core relaxing. It’s been absolutely wonderful, but now I am ready to get sh*t done in 2019! I’ve done a lot of reflecting on 2018 (which was a seriously awesome year for me) but I’ve also thought about what I want 2019 to bring me. And before you ask, yes, I have New Year’s Resolutions. But something happened the other day that made me question whether or not resolutions are even worth making!

The other day I was cleaning out my laptop when I stumbled upon an old “New Years Resolution” list that included :

Now I was a freshman in college when I wrote that and as much as I’ve changed since then, it recently dawned on me that my resolutions for 2018 weren’t that different from 2015. Eat healthier, work out more, read more, look more presentable more often… these things have been on going for years now. And every year I feel like I didn’t do as well as I had wanted, so I put it on my resolutions list again.

Resolutions are pretty much made to be broken. Resolutions are forgotten the second the stress of school and work build up. Resolutions seem so temporary. Resolutions are the things you think you need to change about yourself in order to be happier, whether that involves money, your weight or your love life. Once I fix these things, my life will be perfect. But that never happens and then you go back to your old ways and habits by March and start the process all over again the next New Year.

So that’s why this year, rather than resolutions, I want to focus on goals. Goals are something to work towards rather than just a quick fix. Goals are something that are ever changing and constant evolving as you move closer to accomplishing them. Goals are a very decisive thing to work towards, rather than just a general idea that cannot be measured or guaranteed. Goals can have more immediate results that can result in bigger changes that last longer. Goals involve numbers and deadlines. Goals can happen at any time. I think it’s important to have constant goals to keep you disciplined and motivated. I’ll admit that maybe I’ve just been doing resolutions wrong for the past few years. I always end up forgetting them or giving up on them by the second week of January. But goals can also give you something to look forward to and keep you hopeful. Like I’ve had this goal of meeting Taylor Swift since 2009, and I’M STILL NOT GIVING UP ON THAT. Of course thats more of just luck anyway, the same way that people wish to find love and great fortune in the New Year. There are things that are in our control, and things that aren’t. So as you’re thinking of your goals and ambitions for the year, I hope you figure out what you can and can’t control.

So I’m sharing my list tentatively. I don’t know if I can stick to all of these, but I am looking forward to a lot in 2019. So rather than just call these resolutions, I’m going into this year with blind optimism that I can accomplish great things and there are things I am definitely capable of doing like:

• remembering my reusable grocery bags when I go shopping
• read for 10 minutes every day
• learn to type properly
• run another half-marathon
• complete 1 year of Orange Theory
• decrease general screen time on my phone
• donate more time and money to charity
• stick to my morning and night routines
• grow my blog
• hype my friends up more on social media

So those seem pretty realistic to me. I have a few more I’m going to keep to myself and work on privately, but I hope these are a few things I can work on. I also want to add that it doesn’t have to be New Years for you to want to change things about yourself or your life. I love that F. Scott Fitzgerald quote:

“For what it’s worth… it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(Side note: seeing as next NYE is the start of the 20’s, if I don’t end up going to a Gatsby/Roaring 20’s themed NYE party next year, I will burn this place to the ground)

So if you stumble across this blog right when I post it or 6 months from now, it’s never too late to make positive changes in your life or start something new.

The last bit I want to add before I end this blog post is an overarching goal for myself that I don’t think I’ll really be able to pinpoint or measure. I hope that 2019 is a year full of contentment in this state of my life. You may remember this blog post where I talked about appreciating this stage of life. I really don’t want to wish 2019 away, wishing I was in a different stage of life. I want to embrace where I am in life and continue to try to figure it out at my own pace, without craving things I know I am not ready for. Does that seem vague, or are you picking up what I’m putting down?

I would love to know your goals for 2019! Comment below!

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!