NOW that January has ended, and months begin to lose their national significance, it’s interesting to consider if resolutions survive once the New Year motivation is gone.

Although it’s deemed one of the bleakest months, even housing what is considered the saddest day of the year - ‘blue Monday’ -January is a collective experience that can provide support and inspiration for those trying to make a change. Once it’s over, the communal spirit dwindles, and you’re left to maintain any changes alone.

I personally struggle with ‘new year, new me’ January propaganda. I resist the temptation to make drastic changes to my life because I know the darkest, coldest month of the year is not when I will thrive. However, statistics show that over half of all Brits made New Year resolutions for 2022, and the top three were: exercise more, eat more healthily and lose weight.

This is a huge number, and simply knowing that this volume of people are all trying to implement the same change as you can be incredibly motivating and supportive. Making resolutions in groups is far more effective in maintaining accountability, and can lead to greater success in achieving your goals. So January, despite being the most notoriously miserable month in our calendar, can actually offer the most support for those of us trying to make positive changes to our lives.

However, with January now at an end, will this collective motivation disappear with it? Now that we’re into the second week of February, we have to shift that drive inwards as the initial gusto of new year wears off.

The collective experience of January in all senses can make us feel more ‘together’ in society - whether we’re making changes or simply making it through, there is a definite sense that we are doing it as one. But now we are like hatchlings, about to be flung from the nest of collective comfort and enter a new month of individual experiences. People begin to abandon their resolutions as the novelty wears off, and this can leave those sticking to their goals left without the support network they began with.

As intimidating as it can be, the potential benefits are astounding as we are given the opportunity to check back in with our own needs and desires. We can shrug off the social expectations of being a ‘new me’ and just be the ‘actual me’.

If January is the month of new starts, February is the month of true starts.

As the onslaught of diet fads, exercise regimes, positive planners and cultural pressures ease, we’re afforded time to look inwards at our real selves, and find a change that’s right for us. Maybe we don’t want to change anything at all! But if what we decide on is driven from within ourselves, the motivation and support won’t end with the month, it’ll stay lit like a fire in our bellies as we start to shape our futures to fit us, not to fit cultural narratives and social norms.

Our new, connected society can be a gift. The most recent example being our reliance upon online interconnectedness to survive seemingly endless lockdowns and to maintain social interactions.

However, as is often the case, this upside brings inevitable downsides. As far as the internet is concerned, there are many to choose from, whether it be cyberbullying, online abuse or a sense of isolation from ‘real life’. But I want to focus on the pressure social media sites apply by setting unrealistic standards, whether that be in relation to body image, holidays, relationships, careers or our time in general.

Having an online presence means you can stay in contact with everyone in your life, but it also means you can be held accountable by everyone. You can be judged by everyone. And, depending on your privacy settings, this might extend to everyone in the world. Even if your online community only offers support and motivation, and even if they apply no direct pressure to you at all, simply watching their new year goals scroll through your screen on an endless loop of self-improvement is enough to make anyone feel they need to make change. And if that doesn’t get to you, advertising and media marketing are always there to pick up where social media left off.

So now January has gone, and we’ve waved goodbye to the onslaught of ‘new year, new me’ publicity, we finally have breathing room to explore what our ‘new me’ might look like. Perhaps it will look exactly the same. Because there is no right answer when it comes to self-development. Everyone benefits from their own unique rituals and lifestyles, and no one should feel pressured to adopt one just because it’s worked for someone else. Social pressures are eased, and expectations are alleviated. The microscope held over the new year has been removed, and we are left with the space to turn our gaze inwards and find our own sources of peace and fulfilment.

Let January be the month of interconnectedness, and make February the month of inner-connectedness. Whether that comes from yoga or Netflix binges; meditation or socials; exercises or lie-in; reading or film nights. This time, it’s entirely up to you.

So welcome, February, and roll on ‘me time, free time and let it be time’!

* Melissa Watson, of Ilkley, is a journalism student at the University of Leeds. She works part-time teaching secondary school English and has a passion for reading, writing and the media.