Here’s Why You Should Reject the ‘New Year, New Me’ Idea in 2019
New year, new you… right?
Wrong! While it's all well and good to focus on self-improvement at the start of a brand new year, the idea that a change in the date means a completely fresh start and a chance to improve everything about yourself is not only misguided, it's harmful.
Even though a new year comes with lots of pressure to make some massive life changes, you really don't have to develop an entirely new persona in 2019. And we'll tell you why.
It's Stressful
First and foremost, the idea that a new year automatically means things need to change is just plain stressful. It's so much pressure to believe that a shift in the calendar means you need to throw out everything bad about yourself and change into a better person overnight. By buying into the "new year, new me" idea, you're subconsciously creating a lot of expectations for yourself. If you fail those, it can cause you to feel anxious and frustrated, affecting your overall mood and damaging your mental health. It's okay to improve if you want to, but demanding a huge shift in your learned mannerisms all at once is just going to end in disaster.
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Change Doesn't Happen Overnight
Not only is it stressful to imagine that a new year means massive life changes, it's also totally unrealistic. It's wonderful to work on self-improvement and commit to bettering the less-wonderful aspects of yourself. However, it's not something that happens overnight. A shift in the calendar doesn't automatically mean that you've shed all your bad habits and will never repeat them again. Change takes time and conscious development—just saying the words isn't enough to make it happen.
It Glosses Over Improvements You Made Last Year
"New year, new me" subtly implies that you've spent most of the past year ignoring your opportunities for self-improvement. Even if that feels true, we can almost guarantee that it's not. A year is a long time—it's almost a certainty that you've made leaps and bounds in working on yourself and making better decisions. "New year, new me" completely ignores any progress you made over the past year. Instead of focusing on the work you still need to do or changes you still want to make, take a minute to focus on all the improvements you've already accomplished. Then, you have a strong starting point to continue moving forward, instead of simply deciding that everything needs to change without any real action plan in place.
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It's Not a Clean Slate
The harsh reality is that the new year isn't actually a clean slate. The calendar date has shifted and it can feel refreshing and hopeful, but all the decisions you've made in the past are still relevant. Your problems don't disappear, and your mistakes aren't suddenly wiped clean. To imagine that you can just ignore all of that and move on actually inhibits you from growing as a person. It takes much more strength to acknowledge your faults and use them to move forward than it does to simply pretend that it doesn't matter anymore.
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