Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of appreciating personal achievements and incremental improvements in 2023 rather than solely focusing on preparing for 2024.

Abstract

The article "Why You Need to be Appreciating 2023 Instead of Preparing for 2024" argues against the trend of setting unrealistic New Year's resolutions that often go unfulfilled. It suggests that true fulfillment comes from recognizing and celebrating the small, personal victories, such as healing from a breakup or overcoming an illness, rather than waiting for monumental achievements. The author posits that milestones are subjective and should be measured by their personal impact, not by external validation or societal standards. The piece advocates for a mindset of continuous evolution, where one builds upon the previous year's goals and habits while incorporating new resources and perspectives. It encourages readers to focus on becoming an updated version of themselves rather than striving for a "new me," and to move forward steadily by making small improvements every day, regardless of the year.

Opinions

The author criticizes the societal trend of adopting identical New Year's resolutions due to social media influence, which may not align with personal values or circumstances.
Celebrating small achievements is crucial, as it fosters a sense of accomplishment and personal growth, which is often overlooked in the pursuit of larger goals.
The concept of milestones should be personalized, with significance attributed to experiences that may seem insignificant to others but are meaningful to the individual.
Instead of aiming for a "new me," the author suggests focusing on evolving and improving oneself incrementally, using the new year as an opportunity for reflection and growth rather than a complete overhaul.
The article emphasizes the importance of appreciation over preparation, suggesting that a

Why You Need to be Appreciating 2023 Instead of Preparing for 2024

Nowadays, writing down your new year’s resolutions has become the new trend. Social media has impacted us to the point where we find ourselves having the exact same resolutions as the other 8 billion people. Everyone wants to become a morning person, wake up at 5, go to the gym, eat healthily, track their finances, read 30 books, save more money, lose weight, et cetera.

This trendy phenomenon has resulted in us imitating each other without further looking into what we already have and what we need to work for, what suits us and what brings us no value.

Each year, we grab our journals and search for the most unrealistic things to do next year in order to feel successful, then call them “resolutions.” But we never do, since we are always craving more, to the extent that we don’t take the time needed to pause and appreciate what we’ve done already.

Celebration is not only valid when we accomplish something big, so let this year be yours to learn to celebrate small things;

Celebrate healing from a hurtful breakup.

Celebrate fighting fiercely against a terrible illness.

Celebrate getting back to life after the loss of a dear one.

Celebrate stepping out of your house after months of social isolation.

Celebrate moving miles away from home to chase your dreams.

Celebrate having the courage to speak up your voice.

Celebrate breaking a cycle of violence.

Celebrate having the audacity to end a toxic relationship.

Celebrate daring to say no.

Celebrate leaving a group of friends that has no added value to your being.

Celebrate everything and anything, because every minute of your existence is worth celebrating. Don’t let your sense of accomplishment rely on others’ validation. Fulfillment is not only graduating after years of studies or earning tons of money after years of saving. Fulfillment can be acknowledged instantly; when you wake up so sick and still go to the gym, when you struggle alone and still manage to take care of yourself, when you get hurt and still give love another chance…

Milestones are not measured by their volume but by the impact they create on us. Milestones can be something that the eyes don’t see, yet the whole body can feel. Milestones can be insignificant to others yet so huge to us.

“New year, new me” is the new motto these days, but doesn’t that set you up for failure before even starting? If your ultimate new year goal is to be a new you, doesn’t that mean that you failed all the past years? Instead of focusing on being a “new you”, doesn’t it make more sense to put all your effort into becoming an “updated version of the old you”?

I believe that the right mindset is to create a continuous path of evolution from year to year. You can continue working on 2023’s goals while leveraging 2024’s new resources. You can still solve 2023’s problems while looking at them through 2024’s lenses. And you can also keep your effective 2023 habits while adding new healthy ones to your 2024 list.

Resolutions may be a good motivator to push you towards realizing more every year and a spring that makes you bounce. Meanwhile, appreciation is a conducting wire in your circuit of life that helps you move forward with steady steps and a pragmatic approach through life. What you need is not to bounce back and forth but to move slowly forward and never backward.

So, rather than hankering for a radical change, devote yourself to introducing small improvements every day, regardless of what year it is. And, bear in mind that each tiny change is a call to celebration. Because a date is just a number, and whatever you do matters. Whether it’s 2023 or 2024, just keep going!

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Don’t hesitate to share with me a small accomplishment that crossed your mind while reading this! :)