New Year New Me Bullsh*t – Let’s have Intentions or Resolutions?

So it’s already 4 months into the New Year 2021.  How many of us made that famous Resolutions List.  How many of us actually fulfilled ANYTHING on that list thus far? 

I was never into making resolutions as I’m more of a spontaneous, take-a-chance at-life kind of person.  However, you have to admit, there’s something about letting go of everything that happened in the previous year and preparing for the new year. 

NEW – The keyword.  We love the smell of a new book, the look, and feel of a new pair of jeans we bought from our favorite store, a new hairstyle we took for a new appearance. 

Why?  The feeling it elicits, the “out with the old in with the new” mindset.  Old is forgotten and discarded, we cannot get it back or revisit that day, the past, that challenge, that disappointment, that opportunity. 

We can only look forward.  We get a chance at a do-over.  We then RESOLVE to fix it and make it better in the new year. 

Resolutions can be damaging, it may be defined as finding a solution to a problem or conflict.  The pressure we put ourselves into just to accomplish unrealistic, unhealthy, and materialistic goals.  The stress and disappointment come when the year has ended and they were never fulfilled, resolved, or were forgotten.  Rinse.  Repeat another New Year.

Five new years in, we’re at the same position, making these same “RESOLUTIONS“, never holding ourselves accountable to actually fulfilling them.  I’m just saying, having the resolution to win the LOTTO seems a bit unrealistic if you’ve never even tried your luck at playing! 

As opposed to setting a resolution to pay off your student debt when you’ve actually had an ongoing payment plan for it, you’ve cut down on unnecessary spending to try to allocate more funds to pump into it.  See the difference?  Don’t get me wrong, we can have a dream or set a resolution to make it come true.  It takes work.  Are you willing to get up and put in the work?

Intentions can be fulfilling.  When we live with intentions, every day we can constantly examine ourselves, our goals, our dreams, and our priorities.  We can decide what’s working and what’s not, and make adjustments accordingly to live a better, purposeful life. 

We get to take a closer look at how we live, figure out if it aligns with our intentions, and make changes accordingly.  The good news is, this can be a constant work in progress, you don’t have to wait until the last day of the year to decide your life’s intentions. 

Let’s instead be RESOLUTE.  Let’s stop coining the bullsh*t phrase about NEW YEAR NEW ME when we don’t’ take responsibility or accountability for a new LIFE anyway.  It looks good on paper but actually having intentions to fulfill the NEW ME is non-existent. 

Did you do something this year that you can be proud of?

Did you make time for self-care?  You’ve been wanting to lose those 10 pounds for the last 10 years. 

Did you constantly entertain toxic people and toxic behavior in your life?

Did you make a difference in the community or the world in any small way thus far? 

This year 2021, no matter the adversities we faced during the year, put away unrealistic Resolutions. Let’s not wait until 2022 is 10 seconds away to live an Intentional Life.

XOXO

“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.