With 2021 just around the corner, many are looking back at 2020 a little shell shocked.
The usual resolutions about losing weight, not procrastinating, visiting family more often are a distant memory that disappeared when Covid-19 hit and life suddenly changed and got much smaller and isolated.
How ignorant and clueless we were on New Year’s Day last year.
This past year has been long, tragic, painful, and felt like it would never end. Except now it is. But I am not sure ringing in 2021 is going eliminate all that made 2020 such a horrible year. The positives on the horizon appear to the results of C19 tests rather than life improvements.
But we are a little wiser, hardened, and with enough sarcasm, may be equipped to weather whatever storm is brewing and waiting for us. And kind of mindset means we must adjust our resolutions.
I am thinking a little less “new year, new me” and more “you have to earn my respect, 2021.”
Here are few resolutions to ponder as the clock ticks down to 2021 to fit what we are experiencing versus what we thought we would.
Social media: Stop doom scrolling on Twitter. Become the GOAT at sarcasm. Unfollow all the Kardashians but continue to keep up. Avoid TikTok and Parler and make a viral reel making fun of TikTok. Stay out of Facebook jail. Unfriend every person who shares their unsolicited diet, exercise regimen or injured toe.
Food: Go vegan for six months and inevitably give up. Remember to make overnight oats the night before even though you know you won’t want to eat them in the morning. Stop buying up all the butternut squash gnocchi at Trader Joe’s as soon as they restock. Leave some for the other shoppers. Go on a vitamin/supplement spree and finish at least one bottle.
Exercise: Sign up for a marathon that you bravely will not actually run. Stop carrying chocolate bars when jogging. Dust the unused exercise equipment so you look more productive.
Clothes: Live the best life and only buy pants with no buttons or zippers. Turn all the high heel shoes into flats (handsaw works well). Buy more pajamas to wear while working at home.
Activities: Buy all leftover 2020 calendars and burn them. Go outside - among people. Relearn social cues after a year at home. Turn tweets into a book and become a famous author. Never take HomeGoods trips for granted ever again. Get a “New Year, New Me” tattoo. Refuse to acknowledge the entirety of 2020 during social gatherings. Stop hoarding toilet paper and other items. Stop making resolutions.
The bottom line is that we all tend to break these resolutions. On the other hand, to stop setting lofty goals would an even more terrible kind of apathy. The real value of resolutions isn’t reminding us that we are imperfect, but instead that we are very persevering creatures.
Yes, we are frail and often confused, but we carry on because we might lose that weight or write that book or travel to France.
We are all fallible, but we are capable in equal measure; defeated now, but not deterred from trying again.
Happy New Year. Stay Safe and Stay Healthy.