‘Tis the season for resolutions. This month, as we leave the negativity and baggage of 2016 behind for a clean slate, we suggest you make your goals for 2017 a little loftier than the usual “lose five pounds” (particularly given the fact that you do not need to lose even a single pound.) Here, five behaviors you should definitely leave behind in 2017, even if each of them is a bit easier said than done.
Don't Do These 7 Things In 2017
Madonna's recent speech—in which she mentioned that aging is a "sin" in our society—moved us, and we were cheering throughout the entire thing. Still, we're all guilty of saying "she looks old" or "did she gain weight?" and etcetera about other women, particularly ones we don't know. Let's stop. Yes, we live in a patriarchy and yes, we've all been made to believe our value lies largely in our physicality by this male-driven society. We also, however, have the power to change the conversation. In 2017, avoid critiques and get creative with your compliments—after all, your bestie has both a mind and a soul, not just good hair.
It starts with you, boo. In 2017, resolve to find positive things to say to yourself every time you look in the mirror. We all have cellulite, stretch marks, sagginess, pockets of fat, wrinkles and a zillion other signs we're living our best lives. Hating them doesn't make them go away, but embracing them, oddly, does—reality is perception, after all.
The internet—social media specifically—has enriched our lives in so many ways. Still, we invite you to check in with yourself on something as we head into the new year—do you find life inside your phone to be more exciting than life outside of it? Can you survive without social media's steady stream of stimulation and validation? We predict that digital detoxes are going to be huge in 2017, and we encourage you to evaluate your own addiction in the new year. Once upon a time, experience was still valid if no one was there to snap a photo of it, like it, or comment on it. Can you still enjoy your life, IRL?
Many of us are guilty of bemoaning the state of politics within the U.S.—or feeling guilty about what's happening to others outside of this country, with Aleppo being a prime example—without actually taking action to effect change. There is an organization, if not many, that you can throw your time and money behind which supports whichever causes about which you're most passionate. Find them, join them and become a leader within them. 4500 women have signed up to run for office since the election—should you be among their ranks?
Do your research, always. Whether it's a story on the latest diet trend or headline news about our new President, it's now on us as individual consumers to verify the facts.
You don't have to believe in climate change to understand that thousands of species worldwide are facing extinction due to a number of factors, all of which are the direct or indirect result of human behavior. Leo isn't going to save them all, and our government might not do much in the next four years to aid in the planet's plight. It's important, then, that we each do our part by avoiding products which use palm oil whenever possible, sponsoring endangered animals, making sure we're recycling plastic, volunteering for beach clean-ups, leasing eco-friendly cars and more.
Do you feel as though you're sort of waiting for the relationship or job or whatever it may be for you to come into your life before you'll consider your "real" life to have actually started? Newsflash! This is your life, what's happening to you right now—where you live, what you do for work, who you spend your time with and etcetera. If you want it to look different in any department, we highly encourage you to set and work towards goals to get there in the new year; however, the journey is the destination, so don't dismiss the process in pursuit of the end goal.
