According to a study done by Time2Play in 2023, 1,000 Canadians were surveyed and 48 per cent of respondents lacked the motivation to keep their New Years resolutions throughout the year.
If I had taken part in the study, I would have answered the same. As we gear up for the new year and enjoy the last month of 2024, many of us will like the time to reassess our priorities as we move into a fresh year. Do you plan to start a new workout routine, take up a new hobby or make time for self-care? The opportunities are endless.
Before you get started on your list of resolutions, I encourage you to pause and take some time to reflect on what you have accomplished in 2024 — the big successes and the small ones.
This year was one that I feel I will reflect on fondly as the years go on — at the beginning of 2023, I was in a far less positive place. While I had recently graduated, I felt unstable in my personal life and it reflected on the time I took for self-care — isolating myself. Now, going into 2025, I have hope for my future and feel thankful for the community I’ve found myself in.
If you’re going into your last term at Laurier in the new year, you might feel anxious about what could be coming next. You might be wondering whether you want to study more or take a break to work for a bit. If there’s any piece of advice I can give you, it’s this — don’t feel pressured to make a choice right now. Rely on the community you have around you and remember that there’s more to life than school and work — having meaningful connections with others is critical to success in every area of our lives.
It might feel tempting to make one of your new year’s resolutions “figure out what I’m doing with my life”, but you’d be surprised at what you can fall into naturally without giving it too much thought. Is there a hobby you’ve put aside or a passion that you don’t make enough time for? Give it more time in the new year and you could be surprised by the fruits of your labour.
For me, the hobby I wasn’t practicing was writing. I know this sounds funny, given my role at The Cord. However, after finishing my undergraduate program at Laurier last year, I felt burnt out when it came to writing creatively. I was so used to writing academic papers (and articles) that I had entirely forgotten how to write for pleasure. Then, this year, I happened to fall in love with writing poems after spending far too much time on Pinterest.
The form of self-expression I discovered by writing poetry, entirely separate from both my academic work and my job, has given me great joy. By experimenting with my poetry, I have become a stronger writer and discovered parts about myself that I wasn’t aware of before. While I’ve tried journalling to get my thoughts out on paper, I have found that writing poetry has a similar impact (but I’m better at doing it consistently). I haven’t shared my work publicly, but I have let some trusted friends read it. However, there are still some I have written entirely for myself that no one will ever see.
You might not be a writer, but I’m sure that there’s a hobby you have been neglecting in favour of keeping up with your schoolwork. This year, try out a new year’s resolution that helps you become more consistent with it. The most important thing is to set time aside for it — don’t get bogged down by thinking you have to become an “expert”.
As the snow flies and January blows in, don’t disregard your new year’s resolutions — just make sure they are ones that you are motivated to keep.
