Every year, we experience the same cycle. “New Year, New Me” as the saying goes. Suddenly, we’re motivated to drastically change ourselves. Whether it revolves around outer beauty or inner growth, this desire seems to strike everyone in January.
Gyms become crowded with overly ambitious and disingenuously committed individuals supposedly ready to bring forth a better version of themselves. However, almost 70 per cent of Candians fail to stick to their New Year’s resolutions.
If you ask me, the real winners in this scenario are the industries: beauty and wellness, diet and nutrition, and self-help and personal development. New years resolutions give these industries the opportunity to capitalize on society’s short-term obsession with self-improvement.Therefore, I believe that we must all be more conscious of what real change looks like as we enter the new year, and realize growth can happen all year round.
The need to change
As humans, I believe most of us feel a natural need to evolve. While change is a part of life, forcing it isn’t. However, when New Year comes around, I often hear talk about vision boards and friends asking, “So what’s your New Year’s resolution?” This, I believe, reinforces the pressure for unnecessary change.
“Oh, maybe I’ll go to the gym, or I’ll stop dating and just focus on myself,” we hear ourselves say as if any of that ever lasts. True change requires discipline and a genuine desire to change. For most people, I believe it’s not that we lack motivation — it’s that we haven’t fully committed to putting in the effort.
Then why do we even try if, subconsciously, we know we’re eventually going to give up and start the same cycle next year? I think this happens for one of two reasons. One: to match the efforts of those around us, which basically means we’re just being influenced. Two: to impress ourselves and feel good, even if it’s only for the moment.
Going to the gym feels great when you go once or twice. Then, you start getting tired and lazy. “Oh, but it’s so hard to reach the protein intake, and it’s so tiring to force myself to keep going and, man, do I hate controlling my diet!” I’ve noticed that a lot of people tend to want results without the effort.
This is where cosmetic, fitness, and fashion industries thrive, promoting products with flashy slogans like ‘This weight loss plan will help you lose 10 kilograms in one month!’ This also fuels the popularity of self-help books, cookbooks, supplements, fitness gear sponsorships, and almost every store is running a New Year’s sale.
The human desire for change is clearly a huge profit to many industries.
Student experiences
Naysa D’Souza, a first-year journalism student at UTSC, wrote in an email to The Varsity that the new year makes her anxious. She sets ambitious goals but hasn’t been as passionate about them in the last two years. She wrote, “None of my goals are not compulsory, [but] I still always want to see improvement in myself.”
In my opinion, this is realistic — working sustainably toward your goals is better than overloading yourself. Just because social media presents an ideal of people quickly becoming rich and fit through extreme ‘glow-ups’ doesn’t mean you need to chase that unrealistic standard. Instead, I believe we should focus on just being better, not perfect.
Also a first-year journalism student at UTSC, Dunia Mohammed Abdel Karim Khalil wrote in an email to The Varsity that, “The new year isn’t adding any new emotions onto me.” She always has goals, and the New Year neither adds or removes any; they remain consistent throughout the year. Although, she did work on a vision board throughout the year which, she wrote, “helps me picture what I want and need in life.” She specifically focuses on internal growth and advises other students not to pressure themselves.
So what do I do now?
To truly achieve your goals, you need consistency and discipline. If the idea of having a fit body and overall healthy lifestyle excites you, imagine how fulfilling it would feel to truly achieve it. Whether you want to be a millionaire by 25 or change for the better, you won’t get there by merely wishing for it every New Year.
Change can happen at any moment. Don’t wait for society’s expectations — do it the second you feel the strength to. If you want to nourish your mind with healthier information, for example, limit screen time and try reading a book instead. I recently ended my year reading Being and Time by Martin Heidegger, and even just one day of a digital detox can work wonders. The right book can hook you and pull you away from the draining habit of mindlessly scrolling on social media.
Remember, goals should evolve over time, and the pressure of a fixed deadline can be more demotivating than anything. If you stay dedicated to your personal growth in a healthy, sustainable way, I’m confident that meaningful change will follow. True growth occurs regardless of the calendar.
Jazmeet Saxena is a first-year student at UTSC studying journalism.