Every new year holds tons of new opportunities. New Year’s Resolutions are all over the internet for a few weeks until they become afterthoughts before the end of January. New Year’s is without a doubt the most superficial holiday in the Western world.
If you took a shot for every time someone said “new year, new me,” you would have to get your stomach pumped. Twice.
So why does the New Year bring along false impressions and blatant lies? We have to look more into society and American society in particular.
Change is inevitable, but expecting unrealistic change is a major waste of time for everyone involved.
It’s Okay (Not) to Change
New Year propaganda makes us believe that we have to set out some outlandish goal to make the new year worthwhile. Many of these unrealistic expectations come from one thing.
Greed.
Why do gyms offer special membership pricing at the beginning of every year?
The answer is simple- more people sign up for memberships than actual, consistent users.
Sometimes we create goals that aren’t meant for us. It’s okay to be comfortable with the life we have now. Everyone isn’t built to seek constant improvement and growth.
Self-improvement can be toxic at times. Humans are emotional creatures. They have emotions that get in the way sometimes. We may want to study all night for an exam but something in our life comes up unexpectedly and makes us emotional. We can’t control the outside world.
It’s okay to change but at the same time it’s okay to be who you are now (as long as it’s healthy in some way). We don’t have to make drastic changes to make a year worthwhile. However, we have to be patient and give ourselves some grace. Sure, many people want to be in a better position in life. How many of those people are willing to wait and make sacrifices until their time is right?
New Year: Setting Realistic Expectations
New Year’s comes across as superficial because of all the “new year, new me” bullshit fueled by highly unrealistic expectations. If society kept New Year’s resolutions more realistic, then more people would actually see a positive change in their lives in the new year.
Someone who didn’t go to the gym once all of last year will have a hard time making it to the gym consistently in the upcoming year. Do all challenging goals and expectations fall short?
If we tweaked some expectations, we would feel a lot better about ourselves in the new year. Maybe it’s changing the goal of going to the gym five times a week to something more achievable like three times a week. Nobody should be expected to go from 0 to 100 like it’s nothing. We are humans, not well-oiled machines.
An important idea when setting realistic expectations is asking yourself if the goal is challenging yet attainable. It feels good to accomplish something that requires more than just minimal effort and/or time. When someone finally reaches a worthwhile goal, they should look back and appreciate the journey, not just the act of achieving the said goal.
Expectations come from everywhere around us. Our parents, friends, relatives, siblings, coworkers, etc. However, most people know what type of expectations are realistic for themselves and which ones are not. When setting expectations in the new year, it’s essential to take a step back and analyze what would be challenging yet realistic.
