Every year “Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day” occurs on January 17th, a day full of excuses and abandonment. While the euphoria of setting year-long goals seems like a great way to motivate yourself, when it comes to maintaining these goals, all the motivation dissipates. This happens every single year, rinse and repeat, so maybe for once we should push ourselves to do better. 

New Year’s resolutions vary, widely ranging from drinking a glass of water each morning to completing a 26 mile marathon. Despite their potential variety, they are all desired ambitions for the future. 

Many would agree that keeping up with these goals can get difficult, especially when we’re always busy with something new. It’s easy to give up one day and tell yourself, “I gave it my best shot, but I’m done”. 

Life is crazy. Things are constantly happening and yes, we do need to cut ourselves some slack from time to time. But right now, in a time where most of our days are spent sitting inside, the perfect time for change is the present. 

It hasn’t been easy, this new lifestyle. But, there is a hidden blessing among all the changes. Everything happens for a reason. So even in a time where so many things bring us down, we have been given an opportunity to rise above. 

Maybe it’s setting a reminder on your phone each morning to go walk the dog. Maybe it’s putting encouraging words on your mirror. Or maybe it’s setting your alarm just a couple minutes earlier. However you have to do it, it takes effort to reach final success. 

Let’s challenge ourselves to be the best version of us we can be this year, starting with setting goals and keeping them. Even if that means running a little bit longer or smiling just a couple times more, no resolution is too small to be forgotten. 

In tough moments like these, where things feel broken and our world may seem to be in such chaos, we should rely not on others, but on ourselves to feed the determination within us. It’s incredibly easy to look at life right now and see how terrible things are, but when looking beyond the craziness, all of the blinded hope and opportunity is revealed. 

We make resolutions because we want to be better as individuals. So if we are setting goals strictly for the benefit of ourselves, why is it so easy to fall flat? For years we have attempted to keep our resolutions, but this year we must work harder. This year is unlike any other. 2020 has passed and with a blank slate in front of us, it’s our chance to make something happen.