Natasha Farwell
New Year’s resolutions are like unwritten laws in our society. This notion that when the clock strikes 12 one day, one will be transformed with new motivation to thrive. The thought of it is exciting and aspirational. It may be just the kick for people to change their beliefs and adopt a new line of thinking.
The concept of New Year’s resolutions has been derivative as an opportunity to give purpose and drive to accomplish big things. There seems to be a surplus amount of successful transformation stories every year. These stories range from quitting a suffocating job to traveling the world to learning tarot cards. Needless to say, these are examples of people accomplishing their personal goals.
Perfection and productivity
What is less prevalent in public discourse is the feeling of burnout and mental exhaustion that makes New Year’s resolutions unattainable and pressurising. With the guise of social media, people take to Instagram and Tiktok to present an idealised portrayal of their lives, failing to show the down days when mental exhaustion consumes them. The trend of ‘that girl’ on Tiktok, who goes to the gym in the early hours of the day, eats whole foods, and grinds every day to reach their career goals, has glorified this idea of being productive.
But what if the attributes of productivity are absent? Motivation and drive are not merely a change of behaviour but an unrealistic mindset for the climate of our time. 2021 was a struggle. We were lawfully assigned to stay in our homes for months, which caused a financial and emotional crisis for the UK. No wonder there has been a global rise of major depressive and anxiety disorders by 26%. People are exhausted, mentally, and emotionally. There should be no expectation for new year resolutions at a time like this.
Resolutions become problems because social conditioning persuades us to better ourselves or be deemed ‘lazy.’ We believe that laziness and procrastination will bring less success and more regrets, and when you finally look back at your year, you will realise you haven’t achieved great things. But when you are mentally exhausted and burned out, where could you get the positive outlook and motivation to resolute your life?
Expectations vs reality
“There should be no expectation to uphold resolutions when people just need to breathe some days.”
New Year’s resolutions feel like an obligation that cannot be fulfilled, spiralling into a feeling of shame for failing to improve one’s situation. It is truly fine to rest all day in bed. In fact, time off and relaxation need to be promoted. When society encourages productivity, and productivity equates to work, people will burn out if they do not take time to acknowledge their feelings and destress. Life for the past year has been highly stressful for people. There should be no expectation to uphold resolutions when people just need to breathe some days.
“New Year’s resolutions are more like idealised illusions.”
When you are mentally and emotionally exhausted, resolutions become psychologically unrealistic. New year resolutions are constructed to assume immediate motivation to change behaviour, yet this is simply unfeasible when these behaviours are comforting. To change behaviour is to change habits that bring solace, and therefore not easy to do. Consider the resolution to stop smoking. This is unachievable without baby steps. When you are mentally exhausted, habits like smoking can make you feel better. To change these habits dramatically will not work. With around 80% of resolutions abandoned by February, it seems like New Year’s resolutions are more like idealised illusions.
A new approach
Instead, we need to adopt a new approach to new year resolutions and reformulate the idea into a healthy and realistic opportunity. Focusing on taking each day at a time with baby steps to achieve a goal should be promoted. Small goals every day or every month will develop a focused and optimistic outlook while preserving the premise of New Year’s resolutions. This approach is healthy and avoids pressures from global resolutions.
“In 2022, the only resolution I believe we should have is to be happier.”
A popular resolution of achieving a dream body can cause impending anxiety. People are accustomed to believing that excessive rest days are bad instead of approaching goals in a mindful matter. Instead, take each day at a time and assess whether you are ready to be active. If so, take a nice scenic walk to clear your head and promote mindfulness. If this seems overwhelming some days, this concept of baby steps every day means there are no pressures to do more than what you feel like doing.
In 2022…
In 2022, the only resolution I believe we should have is to be happier. This links to practising gratitude and celebrating what you have accomplished in the year instead of what you wish you were. Gratitude is essential because society’s hyper fixation with productivity deprives humans of the feeling of accomplishment. Practising gratitude will up light and motivate individuals to appreciate what they have and build on positive emotions, which is crucial when feeling anxious or mentally exhausted. After the year we have had, we need to celebrate the accomplishment of surviving such an unprecedented time. Approaching every day with a relaxed and stress-free attitude avoids the pothole of too vague and all-encompassing resolutions. The art of gratitude and taking each day at a time will make us happier by tuning into what human psychology desires. New year resolutions suddenly are not seen as burdens but illuminating opportunities to better understand our emotions and psyches.
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