New Year’s Resolutions have to be the silliest holiday tradition, and that includes celebrating the day of martyrdom as the “Day of Love.”
Why does everyone hop on the annual bandwagon of “New Year New Me” rather than either accepting themselves as they are or, better yet, continually striving for self-betterment?
Let’s be real: January is flat out the best fiscal month for gyms, and yet by February over half of those who signed up for a new membership have canceled and at least another quarter want to but are either embarrassed or locked into a contract. The newly purchased workout gear is left to gather dust in the bottom of a closet or gym bag and the bank accounts bear the weight of regret.
By Jan 10th health food stores have had their shelves emptied only for those unreasonably expensive products to blacken and rot on a shelf in some poor sucker’s fridge before they get around to eating it.
I can appreciate and fully support people making healthier decisions. Heaven knows we could all drop a few pounds here and there, but at what expense? Striving for that perfect bikini body is unrealistic and unhealthy.
Other popular resolutions include making new friends or promising to accept that invite for drinks after work. Saving money seems to be the most effective resolution as most people make it to March before tapering out their efforts.
For those who do actually keep their resolutions, all major props to you–but more importantly, how did you do it?!
I genuinely want to know. I have fallen into the trap of making plans and then falling right back into old habits. As a student, I never seem to have enough time in a day to hit the gym and when I have the time I am so run down by my crazy lifestyle that it’s the last thing I want to do.
As for a social life or saving money, forget about it! I fully admit to living paycheck to paycheck at this point in my life. There is flat out no wiggle room in my budget for sticking even 50 cents in my savings. When it comes to attempting to improve my social life, “Ahahaha!” Enough said.
And yet, I keep trying–and I guess that is really all that these resolutions are really about. No matter how many times we fail, we keep trying. Whether we reach that goal weight or level of social interaction we are striving for is irrelevant. We tried, and isn’t it really the thought that counts?
So save yourself some stress and personal disappointment and skip the resolution. But go ahead and try anyway. You can do your best without the guilt of not meeting your goal set under the influence of too many Christmas cookies.
Story by: Alexis J. Taylor
accent@suunews.net
Photo by: Nine Kopfer on Unsplash.com
