I’ve never been a fan of making resolutions on the first day of every new year. Frankly, the idea of a resolution gives me anxiety. If I need a resolution doesn’t that mean I’m doing something wrong or could be doing something better?
Whenever I walk into the gym on January 1st or 2nd it’s like all of America has shown up to sign up for a membership, but most people end up signing up and then never going again. Or people decide to follow the keto or paleo diet for one week until the idea of living without bread makes them sick and then they give up. Why do you need a resolution just because everyone else has one?
I stopped making resolutions last year. My decision stemmed from realizing I didn’t need to follow this silly trend and the anxiety I have about a new year and what would come doesn’t go away by making a resolution. I’m a firm believer in long-term goals and short-term goals: my end goal is to be like ELLEN, my short-term goals stem from planning the first Be Fearless Summit to speaking at SXSW in March the week before the summit, to meeting a cool guy I can travel the world with…I know those goals don’t happen overnight and none of them revolve around me needing to change something in my life. That’s why I’m content with my goals and even more content with not making a resolution.
If you’re super adamant about making one, make sure you’re making a resolution for the right reasons. I hate seeing young people decide to follow fad diets, change their hair color or “lose weight” just because people in the media are doing that. If you want to change ANYTHING about your beautiful self or your life, make the change for YOU. Perhaps you might even find better success adding new goals into your life instead of a resolution. Getting carried away in the moment is unfortunately quite easy and life speeds by unless you really do have your purpose figured out (which most people don’t find until later in life). Take a trip somewhere new. Go alone! Rent a car and drive down Route 99. Eat a new food. These are all solid “resolutions” that don’t require an entire lifestyle change to make yourself happy.
And if you find yourself getting anxious about not having any goals or a resolution, focus your energy on what you do know: you’re here on this planet for a reason. You don’t know your reason yet but you won’t find that reason until you get out of your comfort zone and learn about yourself. The first step isn’t the end goal, the first step is a step in the right direction towards the path you want to end up on.
XO,
Alexa
