New Years. It’s an exciting but also stressful time for most. You get to celebrate with your friends and family, there’s fireworks and champagne; but over all of that looms the ever constant pressure to not only make a New Years resolution, but to actually keep it this year.
I’ve never been a big fan of New Years resolutions because if you really want to make a change in your life you shouldn’t have to wait for a specific day to do so. Nor should something that has become like a ritual in our society force you into believing that you need to set a lofty goal, and if you miss a day or fail to achieve it then you’ve failed all together.
Most often New Years resolutions centre around us, and how we want to become a “better version of ourselves.” It’s this yearly ceremony of examining ourselves and finding something that’s wrong with us that we “simply must change” that only adds to our inherently selfish society.
As a culture and as a society we have become so engrossed with ourselves that we’ve forgotten about everyone else outside of our little bubble. We’ve become so focused on making “me” better that we can no longer see those around us who need our help. We need to take our eyes off of our own reflection to realise that it was never a mirror we were looking at, but a window. And that window was showing us all of the people around us who need our love and attention. Don’t wait for New Years Eve to make a change in how you act. Wake up everyday and resolve to be a kinder, more loving, and considerate human being. I know many people (myself included) who have resolved to work out more, or drink less coffee, or read more books, or to hike every weekend. But I know very few, if any, people who have resolved to spend more time with their family, to volunteer once a week, to buy a meal for a homeless person once a week, to donate half their paycheck to charity or to church, or to advocate for a cause close to their heart.
I challenge you to stop for a second today as you’re about to celebrate. To think about whether or not your New Years resolution will help the many around you, or just the single within you. Live everyday like it’s New Years Eve. Celebrate with the loved ones in your life, but also look towards the next day and see the opportunities there to better the world around you.
Simply Katherina 