New Year, Same Me: Having No-Pressure Goals

Hi guys! Welcome to my first blog post of 2021 :)

I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. From my experience, they normally prompt a frenzy of new self care behavior (rigorous exercise, "cleaner" eating, compulsory gratitude journaling, you get the drift) that ultimately falls by the wayside come March. The cycle is a well-known cliché, and yet, we still beat ourselves up for not sticking to half-hearted goals we were quasi-pressured into setting on January 1st.

Which isn't to say we should give up on self-improvement. Hardly! Instead of making resolutions, I like to keep a notes tab open in my phone year-round, to which I add random skills, hobbies, classes, challenges that catch my attention. Some are ignored and, eventually, deleted. Others gradually become ingrained habits over time.

The best part: Without a fixed start-date, you can launch new personal projects at your own pace. (Or end them, for that matter, without feeling like you've failed the entire new year lol.)

Here are the four latest ideas on my list:

~ Learn some basic sign language. I just registered here!

~ Drink more water. 

~ Try making pottery (once, y'know, the world reopens).

~ Raise funds for a local charity -- I'm thinking about a $5 book sale from my own collection.

What goals have you recently been working toward? Doesn't have to be a 2021 thing -- I'm all ears to past accomplishments, too! 

Image credit: PENN Live