Well here we are again- another year coming to a close. For
whatever reason, New Years seems to be my favorite occasion to blog about (see
my earlier post, The Hilarity Of New Years Resolutions). Every year I half
heartedly participate in the whole “what are YOUR New Years resolutions!?”
discussions and always offer up something vague or painfully cliché- new
workout plan, here I come!
I like to think that, as I notice certain things about my life I want to change, I try to actively start to change them
right then and there. Or do a mini New Year resolution thing and say I’ll fix
it but then forget about it. Anyway, I guess my point is, New Years resolutions
seem to have turned into a something of a group cop out for our society.
Alright.. Bold statement. Don’t blow it off just yet. Goals are important. How else
would we grow, right? Entering 2014 without any goals is just not a great way
to go about life in general. But what bothers me about these goals for
20-whatever is the idea that you have to wait until the ball drops and the
clock strikes midnight (and for your hangover to subside) to do anything about these
goals. If you already have your New Years resolution(s) in your head, why on
earth aren’t you doing anything about it right NOW?
Throughout 2014, I want to really deepen my yoga practice. Well
since making that decision, I’ve already started practicing on my own at home
more and more and it is still 2013. I also want to learn how to brew beer.
Immediately before starting this post I had my nose buried in a book about home
brewing. But I didn’t wait for the year to start over.. so does it still count
as a 2014 resolution? Follow up question- Does it even matter? The term “New Years Resolution” is
so incredibly limiting. It creates this illusion that, around this time of year,
we have to take inventory of our lives and make giant changes right now. New Years resolutions seem to make us more reluctant to
actively try and grow throughout the year.
I notice this more and more around October. I hear and
participate in conversations about what we want to change about ourselves and
it always comes down to “well, there’s no point in starting now, I’ll just wait
until the New Year.” It’s as if we just decide to chalk this year up as a loss
and keep doing what we’re doing. Why? Because change is uncomfortable and hard and it will seem more natural to start fresh next year.
The changing of the calendar year is so incredibly arbitrary. We know
things change, I’m sure we can all look back on a given expanse of time and
pick out several things and circumstances that are no longer a part of who we
are now. And most of those things have nothing to do with the date. Come January second, after a day off of what appears to have been
designed to let everyone nurse their hangovers, everyone resumes business as
usual. Most of us have those new years resolutions we’ll start forgetting and
for the most part, everything is exactly as it was on the last day of
the previous year. I understand that starting the calendar over is as good a
time as any to make personal changes, but on December 31st and
January 1st, we all find the world looks eerily similar… because it
is.
In all honesty, New Years Resolutions do serve a wonderful purpose. They give
us a chance to really reflect on the year and how we want to improve. However,
the limitations we create for ourselves using these resolutions are what
frustrates me. There’s no reason to cop out at the end of a year and hold off
making an effort towards a goal. There’s a reason the phrase “there’s no time
like the present” is a cliché. Although this post does air on the side of gripe-y, I do wish you all a very very happy New Year filled with constant growth and change.
Love,
Kim
