the lip crew on resolutions
Which Lip writer has set herself the task of learning to ride a bicycle before she turns 21?
New Year; New You?
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‘New Year’s resolutions are typically a bust on some level or another. It’s partly to do with the anticipation of being able to change overnight. As a person conditioned to conveniences and immediate gratification (here’s looking at you, fellow Gen-Yers), I know that I tend to think about the end result rather than the planning out the process and my motivations. When making resolutions it always comes down to this: do we really want to change and why? Sorry to sound like a motivational speaker, but it’s definitely a factor. So, not gonna lie, I have set myself my own resolutions with ill planning and the wrong reasons to change. This was particularly the case in high school and resulted in things like crankiness and malnutrition. Okay, not malnutrition, but you know what I’m getting at. As a result of bad results, I only set positive, healthy resolutions now if I do make them at all.
For 2014, I have set myself the task of catching up on a missed childhood milestone. I will learn how to ride a bike before I turn 21. I will, I will, I will! I have until May 22. I also, thankfully, have a friend who is a nurse… because I know I can’t plan how hard I’m going to fall over because I won’t wear adult training wheels. (Yes, they exist.)’ – Sarah Iuliano, Writer
‘I don’t know anyone who has kept a New Year’s resolution past January. If you really want to change something in your life, just do it. If you need one particular day to prompt you into it, chances are you won’t stick to it and will end up feeling like a failure. Change should be a positive thing that you feel really inspired by. If you make a resolution at the start of January to exercise more or quit drinking coffee, you may punish yourself if you don’t make it. You’ll feel guilty and lame. Especially if everyone around you is bugging you about it. Conversely, if you wake up one day, set yourself a goal, and work towards it (step-by-step or in one great leap) you are more likely to feel empowered. Pick a time and a method that works for you. Without the expectation that you must achieve your goal, doing so makes it pretty awesome. YAY you!
If you do want to make a resolution, make it something that you’ll enjoy, and (maybe) that could benefit others. Read more books by women. Clear out your wardrobe more often and donate that unworn dress/shirt/jumpsuit to someone who needs it. Contribute to Lip. Smile at a stranger at least once a day. Just don’t feel like you’ve let yourself down if you have a latte or miss the gym.’ – Amy Nicholls-Diver, Writer, Serial Goal-maker/breaker
‘The thing about change for me (and that is what New Year’s resolutions are about – changing something for the “better”), is that it’s a lifelong commitment. If you decide to change something about yourself, it’s basically a necessity to implement the necessary changes in order to sustain that change. I guess the whole jist of what I’m saying is about change. Can we actively change something about ourselves consciously? Especially if our lives are going pretty well and this resolution that we’re thinking about is just one of those “It’d be nice if…” things. All the resolutions that I’ve ever set have been broken. Usually sooner than respectable. I read the other day that willpower is a resource that runs out. If this is true, then what’s going to charge us through when we just don’t have the will? It’s got to be a natural thing. You can implement a resolution, but eventually after the struggle, there’s got to be some sort of natural ease into the new regime. More often than not, this doesn’t happen. It’s just easier to do what you’ve always done and to stick to what you know. Resolutions are tough because forced change is unnatural. It doesn’t matter whether the change has to happen or not, there is always a degree of resistance.’ – Yalei Wang, Writer
‘Resolution, from Latin resolvere, meaning “to loosen or dissolve again,” which was the original meaning.’
From now onwards, I hope to loosen and dissolve my worrying and constant strive for success, betterness and perfection. I hope to love and accept myself as I am, understanding time is fluid, and knowing that although the energy stored in my body can be directed in billions of ways, it is ancient, and neither adds nor subtracts to the structure of the universe, so I may as well enjoy how I spend it.’ – Audrey K Hulm, Writer
‘New Year Resolutions? Yours could look a little like this: “eat less, exercise more, start small investments”… but why do we do it?
For some of us, annual resolutions help us to stay grounded. They help us to remember the goals that we keep long after the 365 days are over. The desires we still try to ascertain long after the celebrations are over and the hope that this year, things will be that much better. On a personal note, resolutions should be realistic plans to make us feel happier, not hard tasks that make us berate ourselves for not reaching the perfect number on the bathroom scales. Resolution or not, 2014 should be a good reason to be grateful for having reached another milestone and being alive.’ – Sophia Anna, Writer
‘Every New Years millions of people around the world make resolutions for the upcoming year. I can’t really answer why this started; but from my observation, resolutions in Australia have become a means of dealing with personal embarrassment or regret. People make resolutions for all sorts of things they did or didn’t do the previous year/s that they want to change. It may be putting on an extra 5kg over winter or drinking too much in the summer. Regardless of what it is, people seem to make a resolution to do something better in the coming year. Look better, feel better, be a better person. Whether making resolutions is good or bad is something I can’t really answer; but if it works for you, I say go for it. There is nothing bad about hoping for a better future. What better time to make change than the New Year?’ – Heidi La Paglia, Writer
‘I’ve come to really appreciate the New Year (even though NYE is wildly overhyped) and it’s mostly because of resolutions. I like the idea of millions of people around the world deciding to make some life changes, big or small. Even if we know that the odds are against us doing anything differently. I don’t think they’re futile, even if I don’t always keep mine. Last year I did, which made me confident that I could stick to my resolution this year, which is to say “no” more often. Not to things I have to do but to things I feel obligated to do but know I won’t enjoy; or things that might, in theory, be good to say I’ve done but realistically I won’t have the time or energy to see through. I understand the advice of “say yes to everything”, especially when you’re young, but I also think there’s value in doing nothing sometimes. Or waiting for the next opportunity to come along. More and more I believe that there is no one big chance that will destroy you if you don’t take it. I think the real challenge is figuring out which opportunities to reject.’ – Shannon Clarke, Writer
‘Everything will be different. I will be fresh, prepared, enthusiastic yet glamorous; nothing will stop me. This will be my year.
There’s something about the cyclical nature of the year, the ending of some things and beginning of others, that compels us to undertake the tiresome task of reflection. You whisper these new promises to yourself, haggard with the excess of the Christmas season, exhausted and somewhat disappointed with the year that’s been. And you sneak just one more chocolate with “season’s greetings” written cheerily on the golden wrapper, as you plan the mammoth amounts of smoothies you’re going to consume after daily jogs. You’re going to need so much kale! Unfortunately, these whispers are often lies with a golden wrapping of hope. Why would everything be different just because you bought a new calendar? We are creatures of habit. By the end of January, you still haven’t exercised and there’s a whole bunch of kale rotting in your fridge. Do not despair. EVERY DAY is a new day! Instead of making hard resolutions, why, let’s start with step one, shall we? Become aware of your habits that you’ve decided are unhealthy. Become mindful of your thought processes and behaviour. Catch laziness or bad patterns in their inception, and decide to do different! This will be your year. But change is not as absolute as you imagined; perhaps you could start with baby steps.’ – Lou Heinrich, Film Editor
