At the end of every year, everyone says the same three things: “I’m going to go to the gym more,” “I’m going to eat healthier” or “I’m going to get organized.” People always say they are going to change something about their life for the new year, but rarely stick with it. I’ve grown to think some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions are overrated and not a good pick if you want to truly improve yourself going into the next year.
Working out more: Going to the gym more is the New Year’s resolution I hear most often, and the one I find most dumb. Sure, you go to the gym a lot in January and maybe even February, but realistically, it is something you don’t keep up with. At the end of the day, you wasted money on a gym membership you don’t use. Going to the gym can also be intimidating for a lot of people. Instead, commit yourself to running outside or hiking more. This won’t cost you any money and is still working out. This way you can meet your end goal of being healthier and more in shape without losing anything.
Live life to the fullest: Saying that your New Year’s resolution is living life to the fullest is super cringey. It’s also a way to set yourself up for a bad year. Giving yourself a really high bar is unlikely to achieve. This is also a resolution you will forget about in three weeks. Instead of this, a better resolution is saying you’re going to do more activities that make you happy. This is still a little laughable, but a lot more achievable. You are able to put yourself first and possibly end up living life to the fullest without the pressure of doing so. You can try to meditate daily or play with your dog; it doesn’t have to be big stuff.
Get organized: Truthfully I like this resolution, but it is unattainable unless you’re fully committed. Anytime I have said I’m going to get more organized I’ve just ended up buying more junk to try to organize my room or planners to try to organize my schedule. This creates more clutter, doing the opposite of the resolution. Instead, trying to donate more things is a good substitute. This way actually makes you more organized because you have less stuff and it gives back to the community.
New Year’s resolutions create more stress in your life than before. They put a lot of pressure on you to add this new activity into your life, and most of the time you don’t even keep up with it. I think if you want to add a New Year’s resolution to your life, you should do fun ones, not stressful ones.
