Trying to be less Type-A in 2024
Okay, Now What? Sorta Resolutions
My anecdotal evidence suggests that 2023 was a pretty tough year for a lot of people. By year’s end, everyone I talked to seemed exhausted and spent. It’s as if after years of restlessness and isolation, we had led ourselves to inevitable and insurmountable burnout. By the end of December, everyone I talked to was ready for a new year, a clean slate, and an opportunity to start over (those are arguably redundant – but that’s a conversation for another Substack).
At the start of 2023, I set out to accomplish an ambitious list of resolutions. In hindsight, they were more aspirational than achievable, which is a common shortcoming of most resolutions.
I had started January 2023 with the goal that by 2024, I would feel accomplished, empowered, successful, honestly any positive adjective you want to add here. I would not say I feel complete and utter despair or disappointment right now – I’m just not in the place I thought I would be. In fact, I fell short of almost all of my resolutions (though even as I’m writing this, it is ridiculous to me that I feel like I haven’t accomplished much – I read 54 books last year!!).
In reality – my issue isn’t actually that I didn’t do anything – it’s that I didn’t do the exact things I had sought out to do. If instead of saying I wanted to run a half-marathon (as a non-runner…lmao), I had said I wanted to run around Battersea Park more often, I would’ve succeeded. But alas, I am a task-oriented, type-A, eldest daughter, which means because I decided to quit the half-marathon, I didn’t get to check off a box on my aspirational to-do list.
This past December, being the moody person I tend to be when the sun sets at 3:30 PM, I decided I wasn’t even going to set any resolutions. Whether out of exhaustion or frustration with the fact that I hadn’t achieved as much as I had intended, I decided I didn’t want to set any goals for the new year.
I finally got past my sulking and remembered that intention and goal-setting are fundamental to who I am as a person, and decided that this year, instead of focusing on achieving resolutions, I want to be happier and more fulfilled in 2024. That means focusing less on output and task completion and more on the experience and benefit of certain goals.
My 2024 happiness-focused, anti-accomplishment-oriented goals are as follows:
I want to focus on being happy and doing things that make me happy.
Instead of writing every other week – I want to write more about things I enjoy writing about (ex: travel guides 👀).
Instead of getting 10k steps a day – I want to get outside more and explore new neighborhoods and cities.
Instead of not using my phone in the morning – I want to create a morning routine that makes me happier than immediately checking work emails.
HOWEVER – I will be keeping my 52+ book reading goal, because it was one of the most fulfilling tasks I accomplished last year.
I understand the above is still a list, and so, in a way, it is still a set of resolutions, but they are more intentional and achievable than last year’s.
Ending 2024 on a happier note than I ended 2023 in an election year… as a political news junkie… is no small feat, but without the looming burden of running 13.1 consecutive miles, I’m happier already.
Weekly Reccos:
What to read 📖 : Bee Sting by Paul Murray (my last 5-star book of 2023).
What to listen to 🎧: Empire Podcast – I started listening to the first series.
What to watch 📺: Theater Camp – My friends and I watched over NYE and it is such a funny, happy movie.
Reminder: 2024 is an election year! 😬 Make sure you have all the resources you need vote. 🗳