As we round up another (long and surprisingly arduous) year where mercury was not only in the microwave but burnt the whole damn house down, it’s time to ponder what’s on the horizon for 2024. The beginning of the year is the perfect time to slough off the negative vibes and embrace a clean slate, usually accompanied by lofty resolutions and a can-do attitude.
Last year I decided to blindly follow along with a resolution method regaled by the plump-skinned 25-year-olds plastered all over my social media feed, and write a letter to myself, AS my future self. The letter detailed all the amazing accomplishments of the year ahead as if they had already happened.
The end goal of this sits somewhere underneath the umbrella of ‘fake it till you make it’ and woo-woo manifestation. I was told that if I put my vision down in writing, it would come to fruition as I’ve (apparently) set it in motion on another astrological plane. I thought it sounded like a bit of fun. Whacky, but fun.
In case you’re curious, the future
So this year, I’ve committed to doing things a little differently. I’m hitting unsubscribe to the things in my life that no longer serve me. By clicking unsubscribe, my aim is to banish things from the proverbial inbox, leaving lots of room for other, better and shinier things to easily come my way.
This is what’s getting cut in 2024.
People Pleasing
We all know someone who has boundaries, but conducts themselves with kindness and compassion, and in 2024, I’m going to be one of them. All I need to do is get over my crippling fear of making sure no one is ever angry with me. Right.
When I heard that people pleasers more often than not ‘annoy’ others with their constant need to please, hardly offering up any opinions of their own and essentially lying to keep the peace, I felt horrified, then angry, then guilty and then guilty again.
So if you ask me to help you move, I will politely decline with a no thank you. If you call me when I’m busy, I won’t drop everything to call you right back and, the biggie, I’m going to get comfortable with conflict. Unsubscribing from something you’ve been practising your whole life (humble brag, I’m actually quite good at it) is going to be hard – but the peace of mind it will bring will be so worth it. Won’t it? I’m sure you’ll agree.
Being ‘Busy’
We tend to tout busy around like a badge of honour. When did having a normal and stress-free existence become shameful? I’m calling out what busy really means – an overcommitment to things I don’t want to do (see people pleasing) and the inability to manage my time properly, somehow ending up on the back foot in every scenario.
I am not going to overextend myself with things that don’t light me up. I am not going to pander to the belief that being busy is good and I most certainly will not hang my self worth on it.
Not one “so busy” shall pass my lips when asked how I am in 2024. Instead, I am going to use inspiration from a toddler I overheard at my local café and reply “
Doing Things I ‘Should’
How many times have I talked myself into doing things I ‘should’ be doing rather than what I actually want to do? Too many times, countless times.
One prime example is the internal struggle of sitting in my pj’s on a beautiful sunny day. I don’t want to go outside, I want to binge watch the latest cult doco on Netflix. I have windows, I can still enjoy the outside while I’m inside. But low and behold, I’ll drag myself out of the house and not really appreciate any of it because I’d rather be doing something else.
I read somewhere that ‘should’ is guilt in disguise. We should be eating healthily and not getting takeaway for the second night in a row. We should go to our friend’s BBQ even though we have another one on the same day and still have to get home to do the shopping and walk the dog.
So I am not going to ‘should’. I’m going to could. I could be doing that, but I don’t want to.
Buying Crap I Don’t Need
We’re all caught up in the consumerism whirlpool. That constant need for instant gratification, the type only the latest Go-To skincare can bring, even though there are already three unfinished bottles hidden somewhere around the house. Did you know I have seven black dresses in my wardrobe? Seven! How many do I wear? One.
Every time I see a black dress I vaguely like I’ll either smash that “Add to Cart” button, run full pelt into a change room or bend over backwards to ask the random on the street where she got it from.
No more! We’re so conditioned to keep buying and consuming new things we really don’t need. With the cozzie liv SKYROCKETING, it’s time I implement the filter system with the non essentials.
Do I NEED this? Or do I WANT it?
And no, the answer is not both.
Other People’s Opinions of Me
Someone will always have an opinion of you that you won’t be able to change. Ergh, even writing that makes my skin crawl. If only I could change your mind? I can be persuasive when my soul and entire existence is on the line.
Caring what others think is a one way ticket to emotional damnation. I recently had an awful incident where someone accused me of doing something I definitely didn’t do, but their feedback was anonymous so I couldn’t even redeem myself. Cue inner turmoil.
I saw a reel where a motivational speaker explains this conundrum in a way that resonated with me. It goes something along the lines of this. I could be butchering it, but I searched Insta and couldn’t find it again. Bloody algorithm.
The speaker points to a woman in the audience and accuses her of having blue hair. This woman clearly doesn’t have blue hair and takes no offence to the comment and doesn’t feel the need to defend herself. Point being, when you have a high enough self worth, the opinions of people can’t affect you because you know deep down, they are simply opinions and not truth.
Affirmation for 2024? I do not have blue hair. I do not have blue hair.
So in conclusion, while I, clearly, have a few hurdles to jump in 2024 I’m not giving up on Greece just yet, though I might have to unsubscribe from bills to make it work. And Rebecca, if you’re reading this, I’ll be expecting my free compression full-length leggings to arrive in the mail shortly (size L please).
To read more about New Year’s Resolutions, head here.
To find out what some other ins and outs are for 2024, click here.
