Welcome to the same old routine, the same old year-end ritual called ‘creating your New Year’s Eve resolutions’. Whether you’re still up for it or not, that’s your call.
Not me, though. You may not like my skepticism, but I no longer find that works for me. That doesn’t mean it’s completely useless; it’s just not that effective anymore.
I suppose that when you’ve already been a grown-up, you’ve become more realistic. Your typical resolutions start with “I will” or “I won’t”. Oftentimes, some just make no sense or...are rather impossible to fulfil. Like, you say you will get married next year. That’s all cool, as long as you’ve already got a special someone who’s either proposed to you (and you’ve said yes to) – or who’s already said yes to your proposal.
Logically, if you two have already agreed on this, then it’s possible. But if there still hasn’t been any proposal mentioned, what are you going to do? You could still ask if you were serious about wanting to spend the rest of your life with them. Let’s just hope that they’ll say yes.
What if you’re still single? Are you going straight on a hunt for that ‘special someone’ as quick as possible, just for the sake of getting married – alias fulfilling that particular resolution?
There’s another thing: you have to be more specific with what you really want in life. For example: “I’ll get rich and skinny.” (Huh?) Or: “I’ll quit smoking.” (Uh-huh.) I don’t mean to sound pessimistic and discouraging, but nice try.
Instead of wanting to ‘just get rich’, why not try managing your finances or earning more income? (Work harder, go after the promotion, save more, or spend less? Take your pick.)
Want to be skinny? Here’s the thing: not everybody is born to be a supermodel, so there’s no need for you to beat yourself up. You’re not going to die just because you don’t look like whoever that is on the cover of some fashion and lifestyle magazine. You are YOU. Okay?
Why don’t you just focus on becoming healthier? Forget about what others say and think about you; consult with an expert on this. Do researches too. Baby steps count and there’s no such thing as good instant results for this.
Being able to do long walks and climb the stairs without huffing and panting will make a difference after that. What if some people still think that you’re ‘too big’ for them? So what? What has that got to do with them, anyway? It’s your body and it’s your life. As long as you still feel healthy, then their opinion just doesn’t count.
Instead of just wanting to quit smoking, why not try reducing your smoking intake bit by bit...like one in every week, for example? Then see how it goes from there.
Some magazine articles in the past have suggested that you share your resolutions to your friends and / or family, so they can help remind you and / or motivate you. Well, I don’t necessarily agree. I mean, the willpower should start from you first. What if you end up choosing the wrong people, who end up making fun of you or bullying you by saying / taunting: “Hmm, let’s see how long you can really stick to that”?
Some support, eh? It sounds pretty counter-productive to me. Do you really need to hear such comments from people, even those who (claim to) care about you?
There’s another thing I’ve got from one of my best friends:
Why wait for New Year’s Eve to create your resolutions and stick to them? Why wait for a certain momentum? This is your journey, your own process of transformation. YOU create your own momentum – whether on New Year’s Eve, New Muharram Year, new school year...or even TODAY.
Why wait, if you can start NOW? After all, every single day matters; every second counts.
Still, it’s your call.
R.