From losing weight, quitting smoking and sleeping better, here are 14 top New Year’s resolutions… and why we should stop making them!
Johannesburg, South Africa (25 February 2022) – New Year’s resolutions seldom work, but that didn’t stop South Africa and the world from searching for a New Year’s resolution to try to stick to!
Using Google Search Data, Tajmeeli examined the rising search queries in health and wellness categories in which people likely set New Year’s goals.
They discovered 14 different main New Year’s Resolutions. To Lose Weight is the most popular goal, with Eating Differently the second and Start Working Out the third favourite New Year’s Resolution. Care for Skin and Begin Fasting was tied for 8th place as they had the same number of rising search queries, whereas Take Vitamins and Try Morning Routine were tied for 12th place.
Check out the World’s New Year’s Resolutions for 2022 below:
But New Year’s resolutions seldom work. Too often, we set “big changes” for ourselves, and we don’t take into account the massive lifestyle changes that come with some resolutions. After a little bit of time, the resolution becomes too much and is left by the wayside. On top of that, we are still dealing with a global pandemic that seems to be relentless. How the hell are we supposed to lose weight, stop smoking, run more or do whatever big idea we are trying to add into our already crazy lives while we’re dealing with a global pandemic?
So I decided that I won’t be making any New Year’s resolutions anymore. Instead, every year I set intentions because, in reality, it’s the intention with which you do things that counts – and not necessarily the things you do.
Choosing an intention is like creating a theme for the new year, and that theme becomes a guiding principle instead of a guilt trip.
“What makes a theme so special is that you don’t have to stick to it every day,” says Megan Poorman, a biomedical engineer. “You don’t have to check a box; you don’t have to guilt-trip yourself. There is no task to fail at, no rubric to measure yourself by, and no waiting for next year to try again. Having a theme for the year is almost like setting a mantra. It serves as a guiding principle when making decisions and reflecting on events. Setting a theme removes the daily pressure of measuring yourself against something you wish you were and encourages a holistic approach to self-awareness.”
Your theme can be an idea, a word, or a simple goal for your year. By journeying through your year with the theme in mind, it can help you make day-to-day decisions or evaluate choices and short-term goals as they come up. Each of these choices or short-term goals will help build up and reinforce your theme as you go forward.
For example, you could set your intention to be “health”. This way, your decisions will revolve around being more healthy – like when going to a restaurant, a health intention would have you choosing a side salad over chips, or taking the stairs instead of the escalator, or even adding in a run every other day. It’s small changes that start to add up and bring your theme to life.
So what’s my intention for 2022?
We have to look back in order to look forward, and 2020/2021 has made me realise that the world is filled with lots of sadness. Many people are dealing with stuff that we can’t even comprehend. People are walking around us while fighting the biggest monsters, dealing with things that we will never understand.
“I have lost friends to COVID, cancer and suicide – just thinking about the number of people that are no longer here is heartbreaking. I have friends who have been job-searching since March 2020 and hundreds of acquaintances and strangers who message me daily asking for money or food. It’s one of the most difficult things to be on the frontline of poverty, knowing that I do not have all the resources to help. Just utterly soul-destroying. Crime in our country is a stark reality that many of us have become numb too, but it’s real, and we are all impacted by its continuous onslaught – every day. And so many of the people I love have left South Africa to create a new life in a country that offers them everything that this place cannot; this is not a bad thing for them, but I am a little sad that they are not “down the road” anymore.”
“The last two years has also been a big year of learning about mental health and wellness for me. It’s been a year where I have had to face my own monsters head-on and believe me when I say I have lost many of those fights. I realised that we need to be talking openly about our innermost problems, and we need to be checking in on those we love. ALL. THE. TIME.”
We all have incredibly tough stuff that we’re dealing with – even if we don’t talk about it – and yet somehow, we keep getting up every single day, and we just keep going.
I guess that’s why I always try to advocate for more kindness and to love louder, and for 2022, that will become my intention: To be kinder than necessary to everyone I meet and to love louder whenever I get the opportunity.
Towards the end of the year, I kept seeing a meme about “walking into 2022 slowly and not calling it your year.”
“Stuff that. I will claim it as MY YEAR. And if you don’t want to claim it, then I will take your portion as well. I will be walking into the new year loud and proud… and hopeful. And I know nothing will physically change at the stroke of midnight, but I also know that I have the power to make something great happen.
The way we see the world depends mainly on how we look at it and I am not afraid of the New Year, in fact, I am choosing to see just see hope in 2022!”
Maybe that’s an intention too?
Sometimes it feels like there are so many things in this world we can’t control. Pandemics, earthquakes, floods, reality shows, the list goes on! But it’s important to remember the things that we can. Like forgiveness, second chances, being kind, loving louder and fresh starts because the one thing that turns the world from a longing place to a beautiful place… is love.
Love and any of its forms. Love gives us hope… hope for the New Year.
Inspiration and Intention
So here’s some inspiration on the last day of the year… if you want 2022 to be a better year than the last, then don’t sit on the couch and wait for it. Let’s make it happen – even while wearing masks and physical distancing.
“Live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm. Take action towards your dreams. Get excited about your goals. Grind like you still got a point to prove. Network with the right people. Get rid of the ones that are not. Step out of your comfort zones. Be brave when it comes to challenges. Feed your mind. Go out there and make things happen. Complain less. Let sh*t go. Stop negative habits. Keep your circle positive. Smile, laugh and love often. Make kindness a priority. Keep counting your blessings. Talk about the things you love. Try new things out. Travel when you can. Live in your means. Spend more time with your loved ones. Take good care of your body and soul. Make happiness a priority. Love louder.
And if you can’t fathom to be inspired today, then take a deep breath and try again tomorrow. Just please don’t stop trying and always remember that you will have tomorrow.”
So yes, the World may have been searching for those 14 things and most probably battling to stick to them… but focusing on an intention instead might help you achieve your goals!
by 