Photo by Almira Manduriao on Unsplash
January is coming to an end. It’s time to take down the holiday decor, go back to our daily routines, and bid the holiday spirit goodbye. For most people, this is also the time when resolutions are slowly forgotten and kept in a shelf, where they gather dust for the rest of the year. If you’re like me and have tried to commit to the same resolutions over and over again, to no success, then maybe this year is the perfect time to switch things up.
I have tried all sorts of resolutions; some that I have stuck with, and some that weren’t as easy to keep. In 2012, I resolved to try out vegetarianism, which I have kept up to this day. On the other hand, there were several years when I vowed to try out different workout routines, but quite unsuccessfully so. And then there are the ones that were not so lifestyle-changing as much as they were commitment-driven such as going on an adventure once a month, posting a flat lay a day, or trying out a new restaurant regularly.
As I was recounting those, I surmised that the difference among these goals was the valuation I gave them. For example, I decided to be vegetarian for reasons far more important than my reasons for trying out workout routines. I saw its value and effect in my life, and therefore deemed that there was a lot more at stake if I gave up being vegetarian. The reason I was not able to keep some goals was because I did not make them significant enough to be valued. It wasn’t that they were too idealistic or too ambitious, but that they were too superficial. Hence, unlike the significant ones, these types of resolutions were easy to let go the moment they feel inconvenient, irrelevant, and vexing.
But before backing out of resolutions altogether, it is probably wise to change the type of goals we set for ourselves. This year, for example, I decided to make some resolutions that I knew would have an effect in my life longer than just a year. So instead of fitness or dietary resolutions, I geared myself for resolutions that were not only going to change my lifestyle but ultimately change my life. Here are some of them:
Be more sensible than sociable.
The past couple of years, I challenged my introverted self to be more sociable. And so I practiced being more present in people’s lives by taking deliberate effort to get to know people, meet more new friends, and grow my network wider. This year, however, I am making it a point to divert that social energy in growing my relationships deep and not just wide. Rather than saying yes to all opportunities to meet new people, I will selectively say yes to purposeful relationships. This way, the relationships that I’ve built over the past years may thrive and bloom.
Improve myself than prove myself.
While it is not bad to run after achievements, I felt that there is a lot of character-building to do beforehand. This is especially hard since the pressure to prove myself has been strong after graduating last year. It also does not help that the competition and comparison among peers have become so incredibly high since. But being in law school now, I know that it is not the season to chase after titles, recognition, or even an astounding paycheck. At least not yet. So this year, and perhaps the coming years, I will embrace the process of discipline.
Respond with gratitude than with an attitude.
Knowing myself, I knew that this is one area I need to focus on changing. As a pragmatic and obsessive planner, I easily get frustrated over just about anything. But this attitude of discontent has gotten in the way of enjoying a lot of things in my life and has taken away the joy that had been made available to me. This year, I really will take intentional steps in being more appreciative. I’ve started by being a ‘Words’ person more, saying “Thank you” to the people around me for the simplest and grandest of reasons. Believe me, it has done wonders already.
Trust my God than trust my gut.
Being a gutsy girl has its pros and cons. I am quite known to be one to take risks, act on plans, take on responsibilities, and generally just proceed with anything so long as I saw a purpose in it. I like steering my own ship and directing my own steps (sometimes others’ steps too). But I think I’ve come to a point when I finally realized that at the end of the day, I don’t know how this thing called life works, and so it is best to bestow this role to Someone who does know. That’s what faith is. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if at the end of the year, one could look back and be able to say that they have gotten closer to God than they were at the start of it?
From Bible stories as a child, to novels as a Literature major, now to legal cases as a law student, Jasmine Buen has been reading her whole life. She also enjoys telling stories by writing essays, wedding articles, and someday, her own book.
