New Year, Old Me?

Happy New Year! (Way overdue, I know)

At this point, you’ve already said goodbye to all things 2023 and welcomed all the intriguing adventures coming in 2024.

The Common Perspective

In 2024, it’s interesting to see many people online saying, “New Year, Old me.” It’s like a gradual realisation that we don’t necessarily have to constantly ‘change’ every 365 days. Let’s get into it.

Most times, each successive new year, there’s seemingly a collective mindset towards creating and putting on a new persona. Like adopting a new person. Long lists of resolutions and new mindsets are almost usually forgotten the following week. Half of us have forgotten our resolutions and it’s only the third week in January. It’s routine not to give a moment’s time to pursue recent changes for 364 days in a year actively, then to put all that effort into crafting unique ideals, habits, and routines that are not really suited to you on new year’s eve. The whole concept seems redundant at times. It begs the question, is it possible to change that quickly because it’s a new year? When in the past, no visible changes were made.

A Deep Dive

Goals can be subjective each year. Saving so and so amount of money this year as compared to the last is a clear goal. Setting measures to accomplish that goal, based on lessons learned/learnt and mistakes made, is a surefire way to see evident changes. Aiming for an improved grade by adopting more time and resources is a clear goal. Creating and planning for specific goals in a new year is possible. But fabricating a completely different person than who one has been in previous years is way more far-fetched.

Ultimately, people hardly make distinctive changes to their personalities. First, what makes you, well, you are a complex system. It’s a beautiful, dynamic mix of traits, environment, cognitive perception, and type of reasoning.

There’s an argument to be made with staying as one’s old self. It can be resistant to healthy change. It can be hard to incorporate new patterns to your old lifestyle.

“You can’t teach an old dog, new tricks”

This could be seen from a perspective of reluctance to accept change not necessarily inability to change.  A safe usual space in our lives is infinitely more comfortable than unexplored terrain.

Think of yourself as your favourite pair of good old jeans. It’s good quality, and sure, it has its quirks, but that’s what makes it one of one. Imagine forgoing all that for a brand-new pair of cheap jeans. That’s basically fast fashion. Because it’s generic and fits into expectations and societal trends. With your old jeans, there’s a variety of what you can do with them. Repurpose, add cool designs, customise, customise, customise. You catch my drift?

All this leads to the final question? To change or not to change?

The answer lies in a grey area.

Progress should be realistic. It’s achievable and easier to transition if the ideals or habits one wants to apply, can be defined and objective. Whether it’s dealing with addiction or shedding away habits or mindsets that don’t serve us, it takes small routine steps. Getting a partner by Valentine’s Day is unrealistic and unreasonable. You can’t set a time frame to connecting with someone. Although, it’s not impossible. Eliminating negativity is impossible to achieve. It’s a flawed ideology in the first place. There are always negative emotions around. They are what make us humans. The concept will eventually lead to terrible mental health. Having healthy ways and systems to face negativity is a much welcome alternative.

Endgame

Ultimately, the choice between the Old Me and the New Me is ours. Each person’s situation and sentiment is completely different from the next. There can be no equal standpoint to compare people. Your journey is only yours, and how you choose to navigate that is entirely up to you.

To Feed Your subconscious

Change takes time. Evolution doesn’t happen magically when we want it to. Be patient with yourself and celebrate your accomplishments, especially the little ones.

Keep your expectations in check. Shakespeare once said; “Expectation is the root of all heartache”. It’s human to have hopes and desires, but don’t let them cloud what’s in front of you. Remember, we left all our delusions in 2023. Delulu is not the solulu.

Repeat and believe it: SMART goals. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. Channel these concepts into whatever you want to see at during or at the end of the year, and the progress will be evident.

Keep your head up. Pushing P (Positivity). Life is fully of twists and turns; your mindscape should be a serene environment to cope with it all.

You can always start again. Every new day, hour, minute or sec presents new opportunities. Take as many as you need to!

In Conclusion,

The new year is a whole new dimension to explore new and old narratives, to become the most authentic brand of ourselves. So, whether you choose to embrace the New You wholeheartedly or simply make a few tweaks and modifications to the Old You, remember that growth is always possible.

This post’s cover art was created by an image creator AI.