I welcome the new year with open arms. Fresh starts are one of my favorite things and setting unrealistic goals is also at the top of my list. Whenever I have a clean slate I think about every single thing I could be doing better from school-related topics to extracurriculars. Then, I decide I will do anything to reach perfection in those areas of my life. It is as if a new start will unlock a secret power, like not needing to sleep anymore, since that is the only way I could possibly accomplish everything involved in my dream life.
In some ways, I don’t think setting unreasonable goals is bad. It’s like that classic Pinterest quote, “if you shoot for the moon you will fall among the stars.” Even if I fail at all of my goals, maybe they encouraged me to do a little bit better than I would have done otherwise. The key is not letting failure become debilitating.
You are probably wondering how this relates to sustainability. In my case, a lot of my unrealistic goals often relate to low-waste living. In the past, I tried to become a vegetarian far before I was ready. Although I did end up eating meat before becoming fully successful, this goal did contribute to many meatless meals which otherwise might not have happened. Failure did not feel upsetting but instead made me see that I wasn’t ready and needed to grow a bit first. In the end, a few failed attempts helped me grow and eventually become a vegetarian.
This year, I impulsively set a goal to drastically increase my protein intake while remaining vegetarian and eating mostly healthy foods. That might not seem difficult, but I planned to consume over 100 grams of protein per day as a vegetarian with very little cooking ability and no interest in spending a lot of money on food. That is where things start to seem a bit more unlikely. In case you are wondering, that goal has not been successfully reached a single day this year.
When trying to reduce plastic use, it can be tempting to try and eliminate all waste and become zero waste. Unfortunately, making drastic sustainable changes is usually not successful long term. It can also result in being greenwashed when making rushed purchases and being a waste of money. Although I am all for setting lofty goals, this is one I am willing to skip over. Instead, I am trying to maintain the low-waste swaps I have already made.
A little over a year ago I saw a TikTok that talked about making an “I would be thrilled if…” list instead of typical resolutions. This list is things that seem somewhat unrealistic or are a step beyond what you think is possible for you. It goes back to what I mentioned about falling short of your goals but still accomplishing something amazing along the way. The unique phrasing is supposed to make it less upsetting if the things on the list don’t come true. My list involved things like writing a book, getting a 4.0, and getting a summer internship. Even though I didn’t write a book, I did get this opinion column which is pretty cool. I did not get a 4.0, but my grades were good. As for the last item, I got a paid sustainability internship at Stevens!
Anyway, if you made some goals for the new year, I wish you luck in trying to accomplish them or at least work towards self-improvement. If you didn’t set goals and want to, it is never too late to give yourself a clean slate. Most importantly, remember that it is okay to not be perfect and that even small progress should be celebrated.
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