alittlebitsocial2 Please welcome Georgia Anne, she is a lifestyle blogger who has been blogging since 2015 and she has kindly written a post for us ‘Why Do We Feel the Need for New Beginnings In January?’
If your past year was rough and you felt like it simply could not get any worse, at least you had January to look forward to. The month of fresh starts and new beginnings, the month where you can finally get the gears turning in making things better and having them go your way – the right way but why do we feel the need for new beginnings in January?
But this is something that each of us feel strongly about towards the end of December, we start talking about the previous year and how we want to make the next year better, how it’ll be our year and how we’ll finally kick our arses into gear and get that gym membership that we’re so eager to get into (for about two weeks).
Walking into a New Decade
However, this year was different, because not only have we walked into a new year, we’ve walked into a new decade. We spent December looking back over the past 10 years, seeing how we’ve grown and changed, how some of us went from joining High School to now having bills and rent to pay, or that some of us were just graduating university and now have 3 kids and a mortgage – a lot changed, but it’s a new decade and time and space for more change.
So why is it that January is so refreshing for us? Why do we put so much weight on January being the fresh start that we need, and why does the year ahead have to be ours?
The Need for a Fresh Start
I suppose it’s the same with everything in this life, we’re always seeking for better. We’re always aiming higher and trying to work harder, so it only makes sense that when we see midnight January 1st, it does feel like we’ve restarted. But we have an advantage, we have last years knowledge and all of the years before that. We know what went right and what went wrong, how to improve on the good and how to turn the bad into something amazing or how to avoid it altogether. That is why we’re so hopeful come January 1st – because we’ve learned from our mistakes and from our triumphs.
Too Much Pressure
The cynic in me also feels like we put a massive unnecessary weight on January. I’m the type of person that thinks there’s never a right time for a fresh start, you just do it and see how you get on. I don’t think that you need to wait for January for your fresh start, to start going to the gym, to write or read more and ask for that promotion. In my point of view, it could be mid-June, if you’re starting to fancy a fresh start, to turn a blank page and have a new beginning, where’s the harm in that?
The Stress of New Years Resolutions
I understand the need for our fresh starts to be January, but I also don’t see the point. As we approached the end of 2019 this particular topic was playing on my mind, I was wondering what I wanted to make of 2020 and why I wanted it to be that way, but I had no vision and no intentions. I just wanted to see how I got along because actually, my fresh page and new beginning had already happened in September, I’d started the next stage in my life and so doing it again in January not only seemed pointless but also stressful.
Opportunity to Grow
I do have some resolutions though, things I’d like to achieve this year, they’re simple and easy and I can definitely do them, but I don’t feel the need to put a massive pressure on myself to make sure that this year I lose 2 stone or get a massive promotion, or that I force myself to work so hard for a surge in my following that I can’t take the pressure anymore. To me: baby steps are what count, and I think that when the clock strikes midnight and it becomes January 1st, we should celebrate the opportunity to continue to grow, we should celebrate the fact that we made it through another year and that now we have the opportunity to have another fantastic year, or to make this a fantastic year – without the pressure and weight stamped on top.
So, whatever January means to you, whether it means nothing or it means everything, the only thing that matters is the fact you feel like you’re doing the right thing – because that’s what life is all about, really. If any of these types of posts are of interest please check out my Lifestyle post section.
About the blogger: Georgia Anne is a lifestyle blog which started back in 2015, I began this blog due to the fact that I was going through quite a difficult time in my life and needed a hobby, a distraction, so to speak. What came out of my distraction was one of the most amazing things in my life. Now I write for enjoyment and blog for the fulfilment it brings me. I hope this piece inspired you to check out the rest of my website!
Would you like to guest post? If you would like to be considered please drop a quick email to gemma@alittlebitsocial.com or follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest and drop me a DM.