Happy New Year! I cannot believe that it is 2025 already. I know it is cliche but time really does go by quickly – too quickly sometimes. As I have been thinking about this new year, I have some ideas about how I would like it to go and what I want it to look like. That has led me to make my new years resolutions.
Resolutions
I know that there are many opinions about New Year’s resolutions. They say most will have already been abandoned by the end of January. Often people are comfortable with their lives, and unless they have a true reason and want to change, they will not do it. I like resolutions. That is probably because I like to make goals for myself throughout the year. Sometimes I reach them and sometimes I do not. I am not always sure why; sometimes I completely forget about them and do not think of them again. I once heard someone say that a goal you do not write down with a plan to complete is not a goal but a wish.
Why are goals or resolutions so difficult to stick to? A lot of times people make their resolutions too drastic. For instance, someone who has a terrible diet of fast food and soda who makes a goal to cut out all junk food and only drink water and eat fruits, vegetables, and whole wheat, will probably quickly abandon that resolution. It is too drastic! Goals do not have to be too hard to reach but you do have to have a plan. Baby steps is often all it takes. What if in the example above the person decided to replace some of their soda drinks with water? Or if they had fruits and vegetables in the house and replaced some of their snacks with one of them? By taking small steps at a time can help us reach our goals.
Celebrate Small Victories
One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight. That is great if that is what you really want to do. (However, if you are basically happy with your weight and how you look then I would not choose this resolution.) What if someone who normally did not work out but wanted to become active and lose 50 pounds? What if they started working out three days a week and started making better food choices but after four months they have not reached their goal yet? Did they fail? No! They are living a more active lifestyle, are eating healthier, and they have lost weight. There is no time limit on this resolution and if they keep making these lifestyle choices they will reach their goal weight. Why do we have to wait for that? What if you celebrated every small victory? What if the person in our example celebrated every week they worked out at least three times? Every time they made a healthy food choice? Every 5 or 10 pounds they lost? If we celebrate the small victories then we can see our progress. It can help us feel successful and feel that we not only can, but will reach our goal.
My Resolutions
So to keep myself accountable I will list some of my resolutions for the year.
- Build my blog (fix the bugs and post weekly)
- Lose weight (20 lbs)
- Spend quality time with my family (at least once a week)
- Start my project (I will tell you more about this soon)
- Declutter my home (keep only what I believe to be beautiful or useful)
So these are my goals so far. I have a few other personal goals that I won’t share here for now, but I most likely will once I accomplish them. I have plans to help me reach these goals and I will post them somewhere so that I can refer to them and see my progress. I will celebrate each small victory. I am sure that when I declutter my closet there will be some pretty bins purchased to help contain what is left. (Stereotypically, I have a lot of shoes!)
Your Resolutions(?)
I am not sure if you are yay or nay on the whole resolution issue, but regardless ways to improve your life or psyche should always exist somehow. Do you want to read more books? Binge watch that new show? Do you want to learn how to cook? Bake? Do you want that promotion at work? A new job? Do you want to go back to school? Take workshops? Do you rediscover a hobby? Start a new one?
Goals, Resolutions, and Things We Want
No matter what you call it there are so many different resolutions, goals, or things we want that people can have. We just have to have a desire to improve our lives or situations. Everyone deserves some good and a lot of happiness. Give yourself permission to have both and do some things to make them possible! Happy New Year! Make the most of it, I know that I will try to do that too!
(If you made any resolutions for this year I would love to hear about them! Comment below)