Happy New Year! It’s quite a cliche as the end of the year comes around and we all look toward the next and decide to make resolutions. Promises we make to ourselves for all different kinds of reasons and half the time we can’t stick to them. We’ve broken them by the end of January. I don’t think it’s because we all have commitment issues.. some people might, but not all of us! I think a part of why a number of us all fail so miserably is because a lot of the time, we spring resolutions on ourselves without properly thinking them through or planning accordingly.
For the new year, I have things I want to change throughout the year and instead of making “resolutions” I am going to think of them as more “nice to haves/be” rather than make a solid commitment. This way, I think I’ll be able to stick to them.
To read more books
I wish I was a person that could get lost in a book. Sit and read for hours and immerse myself in a story. I set myself this same resolution a couple of years ago and told myself that I wanted to have read more books this year than the year previous.. and accomplished it. I read 3 books which goes to show how many I had read that year before… Shocking! So while there isn’t a number in mind, by this time next year i would like to think I’ve read enough to warrant it being some form of accomplishment. I think the best way to do this is to impose a cut back on the amount of time I’m sat scrolling social media on my phone. Forgoing a nightly scroll on TikTok to lull me into a tired state in favour of a few chapters of a book.
Quit vaping
Giving up smoking/drinking must be one of the most frequent resolutions people make in addition to losing weight. Sometimes it’s more of an excuse for overindulgence during the festive period: “I can have another… it’s fine, I’m starting in the new year!”.
I would smoke during nights out, when the drink dulls your senses enough for you to tolerate the taste and hit of a cigarette. I’d wake up dealing with a hangover but also the disgusting smell of it on your clothes, hair and hands and would make me feel like being sick more than the booze probably did! I then went to buying a vape to satisfy the drunken craving and it stuck. You’d spend a tenner on a decent vape to last you through the night but it was still going for days after. You’d toke on it during the day and before you know it, you’re buying them to keep you going during the day and you’re a vaper!
Despite it being an alternative to smoking and an aid in giving up the ciggies, it’s still not good for your health and money you could better spent elsewhere. I’ll not be going cold turkey and instead will ween myself off them of the first couple of months in 2025.
Embrace change
I’ve experienced quite a bit of change this year in various degrees. Whether it be personal or professional life. I found some changes challenging to embrace mainly due to being some complacent with how things were previously. This next year I feel like there will plenty of more changes coming into my life and therefore wish to embrace them more.