It’s the beginning of another year. Friends and family are all coming up with new methods to improve themselves throughout the upcoming year. But what about you? Do you need a list of New Year resolutions?
As Hannah Montana said, “Nobody’s perfect,” so if you’re not a nobody, you may need a little advice in coming up with new methods for self-growth. But why develop new and improved habits throughout the year when we can instead force ourselves to dramatically change our lifestyles overnight? We tend to set overly high expectations for ourselves in our New Year resolutions, demanding immediate and drastic change to our mental and physical selves, but we’re simply not built for it.
It may be a resolution for you to enter your first relationship, but why? Are you really that interested in a special someone, or are you just lonely and seeking external validation to confirm that you are indeed loveable? Let’s not worry about that for now; save it for Valentine’s Day in February!
Maybe you’re planning to repair your sleep schedule. After all, the average teenager needs 8-10 hours of sleep per night, which you’re likely not achieving. However, it’s simply not possible while you’re still in high school. Instead, focus on setting more realistic New Year resolutions with these foolproof tips:
Try to set multiple short-term goals rather than long-term goals. If you’re running short on time, you can just postpone your resolutions by a couple of weeks, over and over again, until it’s finally November. But no worries! With short-term goals, you can easily cram in your yearly character development within a few weeks. It’s similar to how you’ve procrastinated on studying for your semester finals but still managed to pass by studying the night before.
If it’s too much effort to actually dedicate time and energy into developing character, that’s no problem! You can instead surrender your time to the human imagination and simply think about how satisfying it would feel to make a real accomplishment.
Needing a break from all that character growth? If you’re not in the mood, then you’re not in the mood! Let motivation, and not discipline, drive you to accomplish your resolutions this year. It’s not as if consistent behavior is the key to developing new habits.
If you’re looking for a personality transplant but lacking in inspiration, just emulate your favorite fictional character. Or, you could even adopt the personality of a real person, such as your favorite celebrity (although this is considered personality appropriation and is borderline illegal). This is a totally healthy practice that would definitely not damage your sense of self and reality.
Try to lower your expectations for yourself this year. If you set yourself up for failure, it’s much more impressive when you succeed! Or, you can take it a step further and simply avoid New Year resolutions entirely—you can’t fail what you never attempted.
