It’s less than 10 days until December 31st. The end of the old year and the preamble to the new one.
A time when, traditionally, we make vows and resolutions to be “new” us in the next 12 months. You know the drill:
- lose weight,
- stop smoking/drinking,
- eat less junk food,
- work out more.
All good goals. All good things to try and do, regardless of the time of year.
But to say “this will be the new me” says the old, or existing, you is no longer relevant, and out-of-date.
And that’s bullshit.
We get suckered into believing we need to be a new us to be the “us” we’re meant to be.
Like having a smaller waist, or a bigger bicep, will suddenly make the things that are “wrong” with us go away.
Because, in truth, why should they go away in the first place?
Our flaws. Our faults. Our broken promises. Our failures.
Every one of them is who we are. Every one of them is what we use to do better. Be better. Live better.
If we don’t have our flaws, we don’t have measuring sticks on how far we’ve come.
And, unless we want to stagnate breathing the same air forever, we need to know where we’ve been to see how far we still need to go.
So, forget the “new me” mantra. Go with something that’s real.
Something that’s you.
By all means, improve you. Grow you. Revisit you. Remould you.
But don’t lose the quintessential you in chasing something that’s neither shiny or new when the light of the new sun breaks in 2017.
It’s a sales push by marketers and retailers and corporations who tell you, “The old you sucks, and you suck for accepting it.“
But they don’t know the first thing about you. Fuck ’em, and all their lies.
You’re just fine the way you are. You just need to work on realizing that.
Here’s to you, and your wonderful, imperfect self in 2017. Slainte.