With 2019 ushered in, resolutions are all the buzz. While generally everyone seems to be embracing a new year, I think we should momentarily take a break on pinning all our hopes and optimism on 2019.

Collectively as a society we’ve come to agree that the “new year, new me” mindset isn’t it. We’ve bullied the phrase into oblivion, only sparingly using it out of irony, yet it seems at the heart of it all, we’ve somehow still adopted the ideology.

The thing is how can we expect for better when we haven’t reflected on not just the good but also the bad and ugly.

In order to observe real change and progress in our life, we have to be able to pinpoint where our flaws lay and where it went downhill. Of course, we have to aspire for better and for more, but that can only happen when we accept our past, our mistakes, and our shortcomings.

I challenge you instead to pause and stop looking at the future. Don’t shove 2018 behind for it to only soon become a distant memory of the past. What did it mean to you? What milestones did you hit? What did you get to celebrate? What would you have liked to improve on?

Reflect on ‘18. Do better in ‘19.

Rinse and repeat for ‘20.