On the verge of the coming new year and especially amidst the “new year, new me” mentality, I ultimately decided not to have any New Year’s resolution.

As we count down the last days of the year and welcome the start of a brand new one, we are overfamiliar with the “new year, new me!” declarations along with the classic New Year’s resolution. After all, we have been embracing the narrative that the coming of a new year is especially a time of immense reflection both on what we have achieved so far and what is more to be worked on. However, upon close scrutiny, this customary narrative which seems reasonably ordinary may have its own defects.

The declarations of metamorphosis– shedding our old selves and envisioning a new one in light of another year anew– is a practice that has almost become a sacred ritual most people commit to. But when the euphoria of wines and fireworks wear off, a golden question must be asked: do we really need to wait for a new year to change? Do we really need to kick the proverbial can down the road?

The most contentious issue at hand lies in the fact that these declarations give off the impression that new years are the only time to change. When we happen to reflect deeply on ourselves and come to a conclusion that a change must be made in order to bring about the better version of ourselves, we need not wait for a new year to see it through. Humans are beings of innovation and evolution, continuously and constantly.

Our New Year’s resolutions may be permeated by the “fresh start” mindset as the turn of the calendar may be a symbol of looking back into the past and forward into the future. Nevertheless, realizations of wanting progress and growth must be acknowledged with an earnest urgency. Every day is an opportunity to catalogue our personal dissatisfactions, quantify what we wish for ourselves and work our fingers to the bone to break a mould, change our tune, and turn over a new leaf.