You Don’t Need A New You

2020 has been like nothing we’ve ever seen – but now we know we have the resilience to face 2021 head-on, as the fallout from coronavirus continues. The “old” us is, in fact, pretty damn great.

Resolutions are a matter of personal preference, of course. But from a mental health angle, the idea of completely disregarding our previous selves and feeling the need to transform can be a damaging one. 

There’s definitely something to be said about using the start of a new year

to establish new habits and reset some of our routines. But the commonly-accepted ideas that we need to lose weight, work harder or stop eating junk food to be a “better” version of ourselves can often be more harmful than good.

Basically, it’s okay to just continue being ourselves as the calendar ticks over.

You don’t need replacing every year like another iPhone. Don’t throw yourself away like another piece of plastic trash. Love the old you.

Improve, evolve, do better, but head towards yourself not away. Be gentle with your mind.

There is always room for self-improvement and development – but that doesn’t mean we need to punish ourselves for being “us”. In fact, some of the most important lessons we can learn come from the mistakes we’ve made and hardships we’ve endured in the past, so letting go of those and pretending they don’t exist can be detrimental in itself.

Instead of hating on the “old” version of ourselves – whether that be at work, at home or with our friends – we can use our experiences to develop and “evolve”.

Wishing You A Very Happy New Year.

Adnan Zakir