The Problem With “New Year, New Me”
by Scott Walsh, Storyteller for RU Student Life
On December 31st, just about everyone under the age of 25 spent the last ten seconds of 2014 counting down until the old year was dead; long live 2015! In an astounding coincidence, the vast majority of them said they felt “disappointed” by their New Year’s Eve. These were all beautiful, (probably) drunken twenty-somethings, kissing other beautiful, twenty-somethings, having a great time, but starting their new year disappointed.
I’d love to say it broke my heart, hearing all my friends telling me how saddened they were by 2015. All I can think of is, “why?” People are putting unnecessary amounts of pressure on themselves to have fun on January 1st, or to begin changing their lifestyle completely, as though that is the only day they have to determine their lifestyle for the year.
This isn’t meant to tell you what you already know (that there are 364 other days to make change). This is a reminder that your New Year’s Resolutions have probably already failed — and that’s ok. As a society, we bash people for what they are, while simultaneously telling them not to want to change. Because wanting to change implies that you care, which is absolutely not allowed. That’s why I love New Year’s Eve, it’s the only time you’re allowed to say “I want to change.”
But then we fail.
So step one is what you know — you’ve probably failed, and it’s ok. Step two is: keep going. The “new me” isn’t about building a new house. It’s replacing the broken bricks out of your old one, one-by-one, until you can look out and see the transformation. Constructing the new you should be allowed to happen every day of the year — new year, new me? No, how about: new day, new me.
The night when a new year rolls in is often the only time where change is actually encouraged. Which is great, because self-growth, self-actualization, Eat Pray Love, etc. etc. But when you arbitrarily decide that you have just one day, you’re going to ruin your night.
My life-hack for next year is to take this pressure off of your New Year’s Eve. If you decide that you’re just going to celebrate your accomplishments for the year, you’re going to have a fun night. So, let’s realize that building new habits takes time, and energy, and there will be setbacks. Let’s just breathe, and have fun with what’s happened, and look forward with hope instead of fear.
