HH Talks 2020 Resolutions that aren’t Exactly Resolute or Bound to the New Year!
Community
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Jan 3, 2020
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5 MIN READ
Do you still "do" New Year's resolutions? Here at Haute Hijab, many of us participate in the essence of New Year's resolutions without actually writing them out in old-school fashion. It's more about figuring out what one wants to improve in one's life and then finding small, incremental ways to do that. For some of us, it's choosing to try in the first place instead of hiding behind the possibility of failure.
Our company has grown a lot in the past two years, and while last year the entire team participated in this New Year's goals writing exercise (and subsequent check in at the end of 2019), this year we left the door open to all the newer team members to participate if they so choose. Five decided to take up the challenge, though not exactly in the traditional sense!
Elizabeth "Lizzy" Walsh – CX Associate
Lizzy Walsh clowning around in the car!
I usually don’t partake in New Year’s resolutions. I don’t want to set a goal and then be disappointed in myself when I don’t achieve it. I’m a “set the bar low so you never disappoint” kind of girl. However, this year I would like to change that. A fresh decade is a great time to make small changes that will have a huge impact in the long run. I’ve found that when I do set goals for myself, they are incredibly lofty and completely unreasonable for normal humans to achieve. I recently realized that I do this because I already decide to fail before I even begin, and I am terrified of what I can do if I actually try. It may sound stupid, but I fear success more than failure. So this year, and Insha’Allah in the coming decade, I plan to end the self-sabotaging and allow myself to take reasonably-size steps toward my goals while executing these steps to the best of my abilities. What will those goals be? I’m working on it!
Emma Williams – Senior CX Associate
Emma Williams soaking up the sun.
The last few months of 2019 were when I actually started practicing what I have dubbed my “New Year’s resolutions.” I guess what I'm saying is that I've already been making these changes without the symbolic end of the year start date, which, although sounds a little uppity, is actually something I'm quite proud of. I've realized that the whole start date to New Year’s resolutions has made me procrastinate on those goals in the past, making me dread revisiting them at the beginning of each new year. I have fallen into the trap of giving myself unattainable goals that I try to start working towards come January 1st, and somehow that whole ritual made me lenient when it actually came to working towards achieving them.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that looking introspectively come the close of each year is bad practice – far from it. It just shouldn't only happen at the close of each year. That said, the goals I've been continuously working on throughout the end of 2019 have been ones of self improvement; namely, focusing on my health more than I ever have, which includes diet and nutrition, intermittent fasting and working out on a normal, regular basis. I've also quit smoking, which seemed to fall on every New Year’s resolution list and was never attained until now.
I've also started practicing being better at keeping in touch with family and friends around the world, which is a big source of happiness in my life. I've also found love, which came very unplanned. Generally, I feel like 2020 is already off to a great start, which only motivates me further. I am far from done with working on myself. No one is ever done. It's a continuous, life-long process, which is precisely why I will continue to do it step-by-step without placing too much pressure and importance on an arbitrary start date that has distracted me from what's important about this process in the past.
Frankie Turiano – Video Editor
Video Editor Frankie Turiano takes photos of Senior CX Associate (and erstwhile HH model) Emma Williams.
I’m going to work on new ways to track my organization. I’ve been freelancing for so long that my personal time management is super out of whack – I’m either working until 9 p.m. or I’m super unproductive. So, I’m going to hyper track my day for awhile and see if I can make myself more accountable. I’d also like to sleep more and spend my money better, but I don’t think I’ll stick to those past the first week.
Lindsay Dreyer – CRM Manager
Lindsay Dreyer, one of HH's newest hires.
After a decade of truly putting myself and my needs first – chasing my dreams, traveling the world and having as much fun as humanly possible – I am ready to focus my energy outward in 2020. As I enter this new chapter of my life, I’m committed to effecting change big and small, from spending more quality time with the people I love, to treating the earth and all it encompasses with a kindness that is deliberate and purposeful. I can’t say there’s one specific thing I will try to do more or less of in 2020, so my resolution isn’t a “resolution” in the traditional sense. It’s more of a general acknowledgement that I’m finally ready to step outside of myself for something bigger and then hold myself accountable – not just through my words, but through my actions.
Ardis Barrow – Executive Assistant
Ardis and her pup Lafitte.
Up front I would like to make it clear that I am participating in this under duress. (Editor's note – no one twisted Ardis' arm to do this!) I am not resolute. I have disliked New Year's as a holiday for as long as I can remember. If you live in New York, it's basically a night where you are forced to make reservations and pay a cover charge to places you're not sure you want to go to anyway.
So, while I agree that is important to take stock of one's life and set goals, I think expecting people to do so in the dead of winter (after two family/food-filled holidays) is absurd. Winter is about hibernation and survival! Hunker down, order a pizza, watch a whole TV series in one sitting! Personally, I tend to get introspective and inspired to make change in the fall. Something about September, my birthday and the start of school will forever make that feel like the "new year" to me. So I imagine I will have lofty goals for myself come the fall, but until then I will be in my den.
How about you? Did you sent any New Year's resolutions? Or is that not your thing? Let us know in the comments below!
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