The Hypocrisy of New Year’s Resolutions
As we enter 2022, many of us have started our new year’s resolutions with the anticipation of completing all our goals throughout the year. While it may seem to be an efficient tool of organization, new year’s resolutions have procrastination built into them and can deteriorate your mental health.
On January 1st, society collectively decides that it is the best time to achieve our goals rather than be able to begin at anytime. By setting a date to act productively, we set up systems of failure by procrastinating these daunting tasks. By implying that changes can only start within a certain period of time, we limit ourselves and the framework at which we can accomplish anything. The lack of logic in such a system has left many people unsatisfied with their results.
While new year’s resolutions seem motivating during the start of the year, they may actually leave you feeling anxious and stressed. We base our goals on things we don’t like about ourselves and hope to fix it, which only lowers your self esteem. Especially with ambitious concrete goals that most of us fail to reach, it’s important we don’t place our trust in these yearly lists but rather in our everyday selves.
Some new strategies to try in 2022 instead, include setting smaller goals to work towards. You can’t expect to change your life and solve every problem overnight, but by setting realistic expectations, we can hold ourselves accountable. Don’t forget that you’re the only one who can achieve your dreams, so believe in yourself to make progress in any and all areas of your life this year.