Don’t waste your time on resolutions
Hellen Akinyi
Staff Writer
New years resolutions are overrated.
I saw a quote that said, “Instead of new year new me, its new year same old me but wiser,” and I honestly felt that. Over the years I was among the millions who would sit down probably on New Year’s Eve and write down so many resolutions that would only last the first two weeks of the new year.
Like, let’s be honest, that’s the furthest most people get with their resolutions, two weeks then we go back to our norm. I mean, I get the excitement of trying to implement few changes in our lives sounds pretty great, but at the same time, putting in the work to actually ensuring the changes do happen is way harder than we thought.
Not to sound cliché but I realized not all things were meant for me, so I stopped with that, and I’d mentally prepare myself to go with the flow. Whatever gets thrown my way I hoped to be ready and that worked better and during the year I’d just work on one thing in me that I felt like I needed to work on and I actually started seeing results.
Barely placed any unnecessary pressure on myself and limiting myself in a box especially when it came to time. I saw that working way better than what I had been doing as a “norm” over the years.
So maybe you still want to make those resolutions. Go ahead. I mean I asked my friends during a 17-hour road trip about their resolutions. I know I sound a bit contradicting at this point, but I just wanted to hear them out and it did make a good conversation during the trip.
I also actually had a few on my plate, and I found some similarity with them since none of us limited ourselves, especially with the time aspect. Hear me out. I am not saying don’t make resolutions but make those resolutions anytime of the year, any day, whenever you feel like you need a change in your life.
Don’t wait until it’s a new year and start acting all saintly again because trust me, that mess is dysfunctional and overrated. So work on yourself any day, work on the environment too because climate change is real and above all, make sure you are happy during the process.
It is spring semester. Welcome back! You’re probably seeing your friends for the first time in a while, so maybe start by asking them how their year last year was, what accomplishments they made, what do they consider as failures from last year and how they handled them. Too deep? Just do it and you’ll thank me later. It’s a way to connect with them and reflect on the past year, and you’ll see you actually accomplished more than you thought.
One more thing, maybe this semester you’re trying to raise that GPA. Don’t forget your mental health comes first, so as much as you are going to put in the work, be self conscious and don’t drown yourself – you are too precious.
Header photo courtesy of Flickr.