Good Enough

Good Enough post by Iris Carden

Twenty twenty-three has just started. That means it’s the time when people start making New Year’s resolutions.

Apparently, we’re all such terrible people we need to fix ourselves and improve ourselves each new year. Then, about half way through January we all decide we were OK as we were, and give up the self-improvement plans.

So why not just skip the week or two of beating ourselves up over not being thin enough, smart enough, rich enough, etc? Oh, and no-one needs to do the over-the-top positivity: that exhausts not just you but everyone around you.

I’m going to speak some heresy here and suggest most humans are OK people. We’re good enough.

Of course there are exceptions to that. There are some genuinely horrible people in the world: serial killers, tax cheats, bosses who rip off staff wages, people who abuse service workers, people who pick on vulnerable people, and the like. But let’s be real. None of those people care about improving themselves anyway.

For the rest of us, can I suggest, it’s OK to say: “Yeah nah, I’m good thanks,” when it comes to New Year’s resolutions.

What I’ve learned from a decade of chronic illness is that time and energy are valuable. If something is so important it has to be achieved, or is something you desperately want to do, it doesn’t need to wait for for the first of January. You’ll find a way to get it done. Anything that doesn’t absolutely have to be achieved, or isn’t something you really want to do, isn’t worth the effort.

I want to suggest that instead of a New Year’s resolution, what many people, myself included, need to decide is to just get through each day however we can.

Here’s your free pass if you need it: a chronically-ill Australian grandma told you you’re OK as you are. You don’t need to become a better person, muddling through life the best you’re able is fine. Enjoy the good stuff. Deal with the bad any way you can. I hope you have a good year.

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