It’s 2022: What to do next?

In less than 20 days, we’ll begin another year amid a never-ending global pandemic, and like every year. I want to know what is 2022 going to be like for me and the rest of the world.

For starters, 2022 can’t be like the last 24 years of my existence because it’s probably the first time I am living in my place in a remote corner of a tiny European country. Also, the whole vibe here is the antithesis of my upbringing in Pakistan. So maybe this transitionary phase can accelerate my way out of the so-called ‘desi; comfort zone and enable me to take life at its face value.

2022 is more of an upward spiral because I have decided to give up on some of the rather excruciating habits. I know for a fact that, after controlling or moderating some of these habits, I can be in a much better position, both mentally and physically.

For starters, I need to overcome my porn addiction, not out of guilt, but for my own physical and mental well-being. The whole idea of guilt and shame around porn addiction doesen’t help. So why not get ahead of yourself, and treat porn addiction as the same as tobacco, alcohol, or caffeine.

Secondly, I will try my best to moderate my social media consumption, and I have come up with some fun ways to do so. One of such methods is to uninstall all social media applications before sleeping so I don’t wake up to a rather depressing or obnoxious piece of news.

Although this sounds too time-consuming, this has proved to be the best social media moderating mechanism over all the fancy screen time management applications.

Third, and perhaps, a serious one, is to get ahead of my perfectionist and obsessive-compulsive disorder tendencies. I feel like I have been better over the last few years, but it’s still a work in progress, and I’ll get ahead of it. But, I do believe in myself.

While all of this seems more like a new year’s resolution, it’s more than that. Since Covid, I am not a great fan of such resolutions anymore because no meticulous planning can help you evade a pandemic, or does it?

Instead, the last two years have taught me to take baby steps and have short, medium, and long-term goals. Try not to expect more, but act on your instincts and let the universe take its course.

So what’s your 2022 going to be like?