5 Achievable New Year’s Resolutions for 2017
It is officially New Year's Eve! And you know what that means — it's that time of the year again where we start making a list of our unrealistic, unachievable goals for the new year. The start of the new year marks new beginnings, new goals, and new priorities. The new year is a time to let go of the past and to start fresh and a-new (#newyearnewme). The new year marks a huge peak in gym membership subscriptions for the first few months and then a sharp drop come March because everyone seems to want to work on their bodies come the new year, but can't seem to follow through on this goal (come on guys, we know you're not going to go to the gym when there's Netflix and way more interesting things out there to do instead of working out, so don't pay $10-$50 on a monthly subscription you're never going to use — put the credit card down!). Some of the most common, and most commonly broken, New Year’s resolutions are: lose weight, exercise, eat healthier, get a new job, and travel. Although these goals are realistic, and somewhat achievable, they aren't as easy to accomplish as they may seem unless you put in that extra effort. In this post I will list 5 ACHIEVABLE New Year’s resolutions that I myself will be working to accomplish in 2017 and that you may also want to add to your own list of New Year’s resolutions). These resolutions are different from common New Year’s resolutions in that most of them focus on working on your inner self, rather than your outer self. I find that I accomplish more and realize more when I work on my inner self before I work on my outer self, instead of the other way around. Abhijit Naskar once said, “Until your inner teacher wakes up, all worldly teachings are worthless.” In other words, you can't achieve your outer, worldly goals (i.e. lose weight, eat healthier) until you're achieved your inner goals.
1.
With all the fallen heroes this year (i.e. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Antonin Scalia, Harper Lee, Prince, and more recently, George Michael, Carrie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds — just to name a few) 2016 really taught us how short life is. So in 2017, I want to focus on relationships. I want to spend more time with family when I'm at home. I want to build strong relationships with my new friends and I want to make my relationships with my old friends stronger. I want to reconnect with old friends and mentors. And, I want to try to be in a romantic relationship for once in my life (maybe?). For most of my late childhood and adolescence, I prioritized academia over everything else — school was my life (sad...I know). But 2017 will be the year of relationships. This new year I want to prioritize relationships over everything else because who knows how long I got (hopefully, a very very long time). Grades and titles may be important now, but they aren't what you’re going to be focusing on when you're on your death bed — it's family, friends, your partner, your children. Everyday is not guaranteed, so I want to focus on what is really important in this life: love.
2.
In 2017, I want to be mindful. I want to be mindful of my words, my actions, and my thoughts. I want to think about how my words and actions might affect others and myself and what impact my words can have on others. I want to "practice what I preach" by being honest with myself and to continue to be honest with others. I want to be honest with myself about what I want and what I need, and I want to fulfill these wants and needs when appropriate. I also want to be mindful in the literal sense — by taking what I learned in my “Healthy Brains, Healthy Bodies” course and practicing mindfulness meditation at home and at school. With all the stress that is college, with dorm-ing and courses, it is important to be with oneself and bring one's focus to the body and mind for a moment when one is feeling extremely overwhelmed.
3.
With so much negativity that 2016 brought, with the increase in hate crimes, the election of a racist, bigot as our next president, and the Syrian refugee crisis, I want to focus on positivity this new year. I want to spread positivity in any way that I can, whether that be doing something nice for a friend, volunteering for a good cause, or helping someone through a situation they are going through. My goal is to be as happy and positive as my friend Sam, who is a ray of sunshine in my life and others’ lives. I truly believe that good will always conquer evil, so hopefully 2017 will bring much needed positivity, hope, and happiness to the world. I challenge you friends to help me with this goal by spreading positivity in any way that you can this new year (#spreadlovenothate).
4.
When I say "be opinionated" I don't mean to put your two cents into every little thing, what I mean is don't be afraid to share your opinion on a certain topic or to speak up. As a young child, I battled with social anxiety and shyness (and I still battle with it slightly), which hindered me from speaking my mind and sharing my thoughts and ideas for fear of rejection — being wrong or being judged for what I said. As I've grown older, I've slowly started "growing out" of my shyness and social phobia. I'm happy to say that I am very proud of the person that I am today. I'm more open to discussion in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom. I am not as hesitant to share my opinions in class as I was 10 years ago, or even one year ago. I've really grown out of my "shell" immensely, and every day I'm gaining more confidence in my self and in my words. I'm really speaking up for once, and that is a huge milestone for me. I shall give myself a pat on the back!
5.
A huge goal for me this new year is to practice forgiveness and accept the things I can't change or control. Forgiveness is a huge thing for me and it's something my mother has always preached to me. Forgiveness brings closure to those who need it, so that they can continue on with their lives. For years I've battled with sadness and closed the doors to happiness because I never received closure from those who have hurt me throughout my life. I thirsted for this closure for so long, so that I can move on with my life knowing that these people felt guilty for what they did and admitted it. However, once I realized that I will not get closure or I could not get closure, I decided to be the bigger person and forgive those who hurt me, not for their sake but for my sake. Once I forgave those who hurt me, for myself, I was much happier. Even though that's not what I wanted, it's what I needed to move on. Sometimes it's important to just forgive and forget or forgive and accept (haha, see what I did there?). I may not be able to control someone's actions towards me, but I can control how their actions impact me. So I'm deciding to take the high road by forgiving those who aren't mature enough (or should I say man enough) to do so. #leavingthebullshitin2016
Hey friends! This may be my last post of 2016, so if I don't post anything before 2017 (aka tomorrow) I'd just like to say a big thank you to you guys for reading my blog! I started this blog this summer and I've received only positive feedback about it, which I am so grateful for. I hope you all have a Happy New Year’s Eve! Please stay safe tonight! Drink responsibly and don't drink and drive for whatever reason. I'll talk to you guys in 2017!
Xo, Naydeline