New Year, New You?

Like clockwork, your aspirational daily routine with a predictably sparkly aesthetic flair is here. Of course, I’m participating in the goal-setting hysteria. It would be out of character for an overachieving type-A engineer to sit on the sidelines while the rest of the world attempts to plan out their life.

If my life went to plan, my day would look like a stereotypical healthy girl vlog.

1. Eat Healthy FoodMeal prep and primary vegetables in convenient to-go containers. Under no circumstances should you eat anything pre-packaged, pre-made, or processed. Eating junk food will most certainly cause you to break out, lose your abs and give you bad breath. Although it could increase the level of serotonin in your system such that you happen to smile.
2. Move Your BodyBe sure to make full use of your active hour when you break from your desk job. Those steps on your fitness watch are an accurate marker of health, and failure to close your activity ring will succeed sadness. No one wants to be a sullen couch potato when the summer bod is in style.
3. Perfect Your AppearanceDon’t dare walk out the door unless you have perfect princess curls, a cute outfit, and a touch of sparkle. You never get a second chance at a first impression, and you have a date with destiny every day.
4. GoalsAlways work towards goals that will undoubtedly make you feel like a superior human being. Presumably, then other people will respect you. It is best if these are wild and outlandish goals that you probably can’t finish within the year so that you can give your social circle regular progress updates.
5. Study Something SpiritualYour week is incomplete unless you’ve taken time to reflect, repent and reset for the coming week. On top of the mundane goals you invent, remember to absorb the universe’s infinite wisdom. Personal enlightenment is the pinochle or personal development.

Careful now… did you forget to have fun?

You can tell I am being hyperbolic. But there are days when this is the neurotic list that my train of thought travels down.

I am a very conscientious person. As a child, I tended to color in the lines and follow the rules. As an adult, I continue to attempt to act as a model citizen. Sometimes, the pressure is overwhelming, and I feel I am swimming in a sea of stress born from an arbitrary to-do list.

Instead of feeling inspired by the barrage of personal development content published around the new year, I felt stressed and let down. Because yes, there are still goals from last year that I have yet to complete.

Why did I resolve to change my life last year, and why did I fall short?

I have no shortage of willpower. If I’ve learned anything from being plant-based for over a decade, I can stand outside a patisserie and restrain myself from the sugar-coated French delicacies.

I believe it’s more a question of desire.

So many of my goals stem from my conception of what I “should do.” This sense of duty has carried me through plenty of boring classes, painful workout routines, and bland diet trends. But how often have I sat down to wonder…what do I truly desire?

Find a free journal template in the post below to delve into the core of your innermost desires.

It doesn’t take willpower for me to play with my friends, go for a walk on a sunny day, or make myself a cuddly cup of tea.

You don’t need the willpower to do something that makes your soul smile.

Presuming you’re in the mood to craft resolutions to change your life in 2023, take a step back from your to-do list to think about what would make your inner child happy. If you found a workout routine that you loved, going to the gym wouldn’t feel like a chore.

I am grateful for my grit, but I aspire to play my way through life.