New Years is a great holiday. You can drink eggnog, eat some great food, and watch the ball drop! What's not to love? Once the year changes to the next year, there's often a feeling of a clean slate; a "new year, new me" kind of attitude. The action that comes along with this feeling is making New Year resolutions. A New Years resolution is, "a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behavior."
Many times, New Years' resolutions seem attainable at the time, but after a few weeks (let's face it, days), they fade away because they are unrealistic. The reason this happens is because we are only setting these goals once a year. There is all this hype about a new year, and if we happen to "fail" at these goals, we get discouraged. Here are three reasons why you should not partake in making any New Years resolutions (yes, I went there):
1. Making New Year's resolutions takes away from reflecting about the past year and the new year.
Creating goals for yourself because you feel bad about who you are does not encourage positivity. Thinking negatively about yourself in the past year forms self-hate and going into the new year with an awful outlook. We are too critical of ourselves. Also, when you are consumed in all of this negativity, you don't realize how awesome you were in the past year! You don't realize what your accomplishments are. Also, making resolutions for next year make the next year seem dreary. Don't try to be perfect in the next year. Be you.2. It creates a lot of pressure.
Having to decide what your next year has to look like is extremely hard and can put a lot of pressure on you. So, why do it? Why not just roll with the flow and see where the next year takes you?
3. Because you can set goals for yourself anytime!
It doesn't have to be a new year to make changes to your life! Each day is a clean slate, a new journey. Don't wait for some new year.
Go ahead and just enjoy your New Years Eve celebration. it only happens once a year! Make each day and moment last. Use each day as a time to better yourself. But for now, while it is still 2016, drink some eggnog, party with friends and family, and get excited for 2017!