Here’s formally wishing you a very happy new year!
And, to start the year, I’d like us to debunk a few things and declutter our minds from empty cliches.
1. Most often than not, people tell you to make New Year Resolutions.
I don’t.
I don’t make new year resolutions and I won’t ask you to make one. If you choose to make one, that’s fine and if you choose to break it, that’s also fine, most people do anyway.
You see, it doesn’t matter what time of the year you decide to make changes in your life, what matters is that you do. And what matters even more is that you actually keep to it and achieve what you set out to achieve. Don’t put any pressures on yourself and don’t let anyone or any calendar do. It is your call.
2. I am sick and tired of hearing the phrase, “New Year, New Me”.
Like seriously? If you are like me, you like yourself and you are constantly working on growing, learning, unlearning and getting better. So, for me, there won’t be a new me, there will however be a better me.
There is this photo I saw on Facebook, and I’m not exactly sure of the original owner, but I thought I should share it here (if you would excuse the language).
3. There won’t be any “out with the old, and in with the new” for me.
Because, the old is usually a stepping stone for the new. Don’t lose sight of the old, no matter how bad you think it was. While I don’t encourage you to carry painful, or hurtful or unnecessary baggage around, I have learnt that it is needful to always remember where you’re coming from. Remind yourself of the lessons learnt and build a better present for yourself. My grandfather used to say that if one doesn’t know where rain started pouring down, you wont know where or when it stops. You won’t know how wet you got. You won’t know how to dry up or how long it will take you to dry up.
In conclusion, just like every year, there will be great moments and some not so great ones. You just need to remind yourself that you can get through all of them with the right attitude. You can stumble and fall, but you must get up. You will win and you must celebrate. If anyone tells you that this year is going to be perfect, they may be only telling half the story. But if they tell you that it will be totally worth, you must believe them.
Have yourself a very happy new year and a jolly good ride while at it!
Lovely post! I don’t like New Year’s Resolutions either. I feel like they tend to put too much pressure on a person and then if they don’t do what they want to do they feel bad about themselves. I do like to have goals though so I set goals and allow myself the opportunity to change or delete them if they are no longer a priority or if something else comes up. I don’t think I’m going to finish everything on the 101 in 1001 list (though I might) but I’ve accomplished other things some of which were much more important. I agree that we should always be growing and working on getting better, all year. Although it’s fine to make changes at the turn of the year, it’s just as good to start making them on a random Thursday in July.
Thanks Amanda! I totally agree with you and as someone who has worked as a teacher, I find that I have to make most big decisions and changes at the beginning of the school year which is usually in September. And, I have not had the unnecessary and sometimes crippling pressure of the so-called “New Year Resolution” not to mention the accompanying guilt if you do not succeed.
Thank you again for that lovely post you shared! I loved reading it and I enjoyed celebrating your achievements with you!
Happy New Year!
Resolutions are overrated, right? They are merely let downs in the making. Instead of resolutions, I’ve made a few “obtainable” goals for 2016. I did it for 2015 and obtained all except one. Hopefully, I’ll be able to kick out the few I made and won’t have to bash myself at the end of the year. 😉
New follower here from Birds on the Blog!
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Hi Brenda! Great to have you here (from Birds on the Blog).
I like the sound of “obtainable”. It sounds so much better and a lot more fun than “New Year Resolution”. It will be one of my “no-stress induced words”. And isn’t it amazing how our choice of words and thoughts can change the whole paradigm?
Good luck with your “obtainable goals” for 2016! Hope you obtain all of them!