New Year Resolutions
How I am going to build a better me in 2024
It’s that time of the year again. A time to reflect on the year past and dream about the year to come. A moment that lies on the precipice between your old self and all the transformative potential ahead.
For me, 2023 has certainly been the most impactful year of my life. I have scaled mountains, ran my first marathon, explored far reaches of the world, began my professional journey, made new friends, and explored new passions. The year also brought with it moments of depression, hardships more challenging to face than any that came before, an emotional breakup, struggles with my job and personal life, and numerous other changes.
Each year brings with it a chance to explore life more thoroughly. Time to experience these highs and lows, to find new hobbies, passions, and friendships, while deepening the ones you already cherish. In this article I will share with you my list of five New Year resolutions outlining my desired changes for 2024.
I hope this provides a chance for you to reflect on your own personal resolutions and to share practices that I believe can value many others.
Resolutions
For my resolutions I will break each one into three sections: identity, habit, and goal.
In Atomic Habits author James Clear shares how adaptation occurs when you change the way you perceive your identity, form systems to prove that identity, and then reach your goals through following the practice. This, to me, sounds like an excellent way to approach my resolutions and as such I will outline each resolution in this manner.
Meditation
“The habit of spending nearly every waking moment lost in thought leaves us at the mercy of whatever our thoughts happen to be. Meditation is a way of breaking this spell.”
-Sam Harris
Identity: I am a meditator
Habit: Daily meditation practice (10-30 minutes)
Goal: Gain a deeper understanding of my mind
The mind is our most precious possession. It is how we observe the world, what gives us our sense of identity, and what controls how we act. In fact, many see the mind as the primary, or even sole, component that makes us who we are. Our consciousness is perhaps the only truth we can guarantee.
I have spent little time dedicated to understanding this gift I, and all of you, possess. In the coming year, and hopefully years following, I wish to intentionally explore the depths of my mind. I aim to dedicate time each day towards strengthening my mind, just as I would for any other muscle. Meditation is my path towards fulfilling this quest and I look forward to the discoveries I certainly will find.
Writing
"Sit down to write what you have thought, and not to think about what you shall write."
-William Cobbett
Identity: I am a writer
Habit: Spend at least 30 minutes daily to think and write
Goal: Write 50+ blog posts this year and at least one longer piece of both fiction and non-fiction
Writing is perhaps the best tool to sharpen one’s thoughts and ideas. To me, writing helps me organize my thoughts, put the pen to paper, and forces me to think coherently through my scattered mind. It is a way to declutter my array of thoughts into a form with clarity and purpose and share those with others.
This year I want to improve this skill of mine. I want to become better at generating ideas, organizing my thoughts, and sharing it with you all. I hope that this blog can be an outlet for my writing journey and that I can inspire some of you in whatever way I can through my writing. If only one person benefits from my writing then sharing it all will have been worth it.
Reading
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”
-George R.R. Martin
Identity: I am a reader
Habit: Read 30+ minutes a day
Goal: Read 50+ books across a range of genres and write notes and a review for each
Reading is an essential part of my life. It fills my mind with an expanse of new ideas, allows me to venture into invented worlds, and asks fundamental questions that impact how I see myself and the world. A good book takes me outside of myself, filling me with an indescribable pleasure.
I have always read as this is such an important part of my identity and fills me with such intrinsic joy, but this year I aim to make my reading more intentional. I seek to explore genres outside my comfort zone, tackle challenging, important works, and become a more active reader through note-taking and summarizing my key takeaways. This year I will improve my reading skills, read more books than I ever have in a year, and be more intentional and attentive in my reading, and I challenge you to do the same.
Stretching
“Yoga is the fountain of youth. You are only as young as your spine is flexible.”
-Bob Harper
Identity: I am flexible
Habit: 10-30 minutes of stretching a day with mini stretches throughout the day
Goal: Hands on floor, straddle, bridge, increased range of motions (shoulders, wrists, spine…), acro pose…
Stretching for me has always been my weakest domain. My baseline is well below average and stretching has always felt boring and frustrating to me. This, however, makes it the perfect challenge for the year to come.
Not only is stretching a critical component to a healthy body, but I also see it limiting me in other athletic pursuits such as climbing, gymnastics, and acro yoga. I truly desire to be flexible and competent at stretching, yet it has always seemed like too daunting of a challenge.
I will use my tricks and motivation to finally pursue this goal of mine, aiming to practice every day through both intentional, dedicated times, as well as interspersing stretches throughout my everyday activities. This is probably my most exciting resolution as there is the most progress to be made and the most difficult to achieve.
Athleticism
“Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body.”
-Joseph Addison
Identity: I am an athlete
Habit: Following schedule working to an athletic goal
Goal: Variety of athletic goals including sub 25 minute mile swim, sub 3:00 marathon, climb a V10…
Being an athlete is an essential component of my identity. Athletics pursuits fill me with an abundance of energy, passion, motivation, and happiness. My athletic pursuits are my outlet to fulfill my purest intrinsic pleasures and to accomplish the loftiest of my goals.
I pride myself in being a hybrid, functional athlete; someone who can thrive in a variety of athletic domains. I wish to continue this path and begin my journey into triathlons this year, as well as continue pushing my limits in the sports I am most passionate about which are climbing and running.
As I have just quit my job and will be traveling, finding a structured routine to train for all of this will most definitely be quite a challenge. But I live for the challenge and this will surely only motivate me more, so bring it on!
The Road Ahead
As this year comes to close and we begin to welcome in the new year, let us pause and reflect on what has brought us here. 2023, with it’s blend of triumphs and trials, has offered me invaluable lessons from which I will take into 2024 as a guiding light.
These resolutions I’ve shared - meditation, writing, reading, stretching, and athleticism, are not just goals; they’re a reflection of who I wish to become. They form habits which will cultivate growth and self-discovery in the various components of my life.
As I embark on my own journey, I encourage you to join me. Reflect on your own aspirations, on who you want to become, and let 2024 be the year you begin that journey. And remember, it’s in the small, consistent habits that make the transformation happen.
Let's embrace 2024 with open hearts and minds, ready to explore, learn, and grow. Here's to a year filled with discovery, achievement, and fulfillment. Happy New Year!