“The best version of you is not the best version of anyone else.” It’s the best truth I’ve ever been told, and I was told it in a Zoom therapy session (how much more 2020 can you get?).
We were discussing how much I hate the concept of New Years and making resolutions because all it does is remind me that other people are doing a really great job at bettering themselves, while the only things I’m doing a really great job at are drinking iced coffee and eating chicken nuggets on a daily basis. Every year, my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and now TikTok feeds are filled with post after post advertising the “10 things I’m doing in the new year to lose weight” or the “best ways to improve yourself” or any other combination of buzz words that will make anyone genuinely believe that by going on a run every day for a month, all of their problems will just miraculously disappear. My therapist quickly reminded me that if those people are feeling the need to post about it, they probably aren’t doing as great as I think they are.
Let me let you in on a little secret: there is nothing magical about January 1, 2021. Or any January 1 for that matter. We will go to bed after popping champagne in our living room at midnight, and guess what still awaits us when we wake up? A pandemic and all of our problems we had the night before.
I know, this sounds so pessimistic and honestly entirely off-brand for me, but it’s true! In this season of “new year, new me” posts, I encourage you to remember that the world doesn’t need a new you – it just needs you.
You don’t need to change your eating habits or develop a morning routine to celebrate the start of a new year. If we’re being honest, those things probably won’t even last a month. But you know what will? You.
Instead of adding a million new goals to your plate, try slowing down and considering which goals you still want to fulfill. Instead of changing everything about yourself on January 1, try changing the way you think about New Years. January 1 isn’t the only day you can “make a change;” try setting a goal and starting it on January 13 or on March 31 or tonight. Nothing has to change about you just because everyone around you is trying to change themselves.
Take a walk, log off of social media, and remind yourself that New Years Resolutions are really just disguises for people seeking validation from society. There’s nothing revolutionary about that. Just do you – that will be something worth celebrating.