By Pioneer Staff
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Each year, January first signals a time of rebirth, growth, and goal-setting. It is during this time in which people all over the world look inwards and set longstanding resolutions for themselves.
Whether that means starting a new diet, working out on a regular basis, increasing financial stability, learning new skills and hobbies, or spending more time with loved ones — the goal is almost always the same — that the changes will ultimately deem them a “better person.”
A survey executed by Tangerine in 2018 discovered that 69 per cent of Canadians set New Year’s resolutions, mainly focusing on increasing their long-term physical, mental, or financial well-being.
However positive the intention behind these resolutions, the question remains: should a new year mean a ‘new you’ entirely? Or should such resolutions be rooted in an increased sense of current self-appreciation?
This question is amplified as we ring in 2022 with festive cheer and explosive fireworks, especially given the long-term hardships that 2021 brought with it, including stressful elections, natural disasters, societal divides, and — of course— the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
This is not to say one shouldn’t strive to be better, and make resolutions that will enforce such behaviours, but rather to make them achievable, and cognizant of these unprecedented times. Perhaps instead of making broad, sweeping goals that will potentially dwindle and lose steam by February, make such resolutions smaller and thus, more feasible. Things like writing down one thing a day that you are grateful for or brings you joy can make all the difference, and the likelihood of continuing the tradition is much higher come the later months of 2022.
Maybe, when considering the circumstances that brought us to this moment, we could all try to be increasingly grateful for what we still have. We have survived, and we are still surviving.
