When 2016 started, I told myself I’m going to take control of my life. I sat down to list all my follies and make a list of new year resolutions. I needed to wake up on time, find the love of my life and save up more money. Doesn’t seem like a big task now, does it?
Fast forward to almost 365 days later and
I’m still waking up late.
And I don’t even want to talk about savings.
This much disliked year is finally coming to an end and everyone is rather relieved. But the end is almost always the same, isn’t it? We all stand at the edge of a year and make ourselves believe that we have a chance to a new start. So, we take up this Herculean task of making a huge list of things that we plan on doing in the coming year and title this list as New Year’s Resolutions. After all, we’re all striving to become better versions of ourselves, aren’t we?
But let’s be real. These resolutions start losing steam about 2 weeks into the new year. We start with all the determination in the world and then well, the year catches up with us.
For me, a new year resolution is like the diet that is going to start next Monday. It doesn’t exist. I’ve made plenty of these resolutions and never stuck to a single one of them. But looking back, not following my 2016 New Year resolutions has actually worked in my favour.
I might be waking up late but I realize that I deserve that rest after slogging my day at work.
I haven’t saved up a lot but I managed to take a lot of little trips to different places and that has made my 2016 so much more memorable.
After all this introspection, I’ve decided I don’t need New Year resolutions. I’m excited for 2017 and what it throws at me.
I planned the whole of my 2016 even before I stepped into it and look where that got me. I felt a little disappointed when my plans failed but the moment I let go, I was at peace. So, I’m going unplanned into the next year because
I refuse to wake up on time!
Getting back from a bad date and laughing it off with my friends is the routine I’m sticking to.
I might not be able to save up as much as my friends but I’ll be busy going on vacations and making memories that will last me a lifetime.
We don’t have to trap ourselves in a self-imposed prison of discipline that we may find ourselves escaping from, do we?
Given that circumstances change so quickly, a single bunch of resolutions may not be enough to capture all our millennial goals for the coming year. You probably don’t want to end up waiting for the next Monday or the next year to make decisions to improve your life. Start from the present. From right now.
I know we’re all from a generation of productivity-fetishism, we want to derive something out of all ventures. We are in the habit of making elaborate plans and getting disappointed when we see they haven’t worked out. But let’s give spontaneity a chance.
