Even though there’s always change in the air at the turn of the new year, I feel like this 2021 is even more saturated with it. A new president of the United States has been elected; the Covid-19 vaccine is slowly making its way to all the countries in the world. Even today, as I’m writing this, the sun is finally shining through my window after two weeks of rain and snow. We all feel this change, and mostly would like to take part of it. That’s why we make new year resolutions.

Do we commit to them, though? Often we don’t. Other times we do, but we dismiss the accomplishment as trivial. So by the beginning of February, our resolutions (regardless if we stuck with them or not) are all but forgotten. It’s not the end of the world if you have forgotten yours—there’s still time to pick them up and carry them through. Let me show you a few things you might want to consider when dealing with these resolutions.

Pick your battles

For those of you who want to pick up a resolution, but still haven’t, I suggest you take a good look at yourselves and find new skills you’d like to learn, edges that need polishing, or new habits that would make your life easier. There’s always time and room for improvement (I’m talking to you, late readers who are reading this in August (thank you so much for being here, by the way!)). Are you eating too much sugar for breakfast (like me)? How about that language which you always wanted to learn? Are the members of your household in your house complaining because you’re too much of a slob (like me)?
Ask yourself these sorts of questions, and at the end you should come up with a few resolution ideas.

Grow a backbone

If you’ve never carried through a resolution or you think you’re lazy, start small. Laziness isn’t a character trait—it stems from lack of confidence and self-worth, and those are actually skills. The best way to grow confidence is to build habits which are satisfying to have, but at the same time aren’t that energy and time-demanding. Personally, I started with apps like Duolingo, Headspace or Mimo. They’re great learning tools that can take just a few minutes out of your day.

Family Guy

Talk about your resolution with your family and friends. Be available for feedback, and show them you really listen. It’ll encourage them to help you, morally or physically, and it’ll be much easier to keep pursuing your goal.

Dear Diary

If possible, keep a journal of your resolution. Keeping track of your progress will allow you to see your journey through improvement.

Perish the thought (so I can walk over it)

We are the strictest and worst judges of ourselves, and negative thoughts appear all the time throughout our lives, tempting us to give up our dreams. But what some of us don’t know is, we can actually refuse to identify ourselves with our own negative thoughts. Although this doesn’t necessarily make us happy again, it allows us to carry on with our tasks and fight against the negativity. Yes, we can use our negative emotions as motivation. Jim Carrey became a stand up comedian to stand against depression, both his mother’s and his own. Look where that brought him now.

What about you, folks? What are your resolutions for 2021? What’s your experience with resolutions in general? Let me know. In the meantime, I wish you a 2021 filled with change and growth.