When we return to school in the week following the New Year, we are always given an assignment to write about the resolutions we made for the upcoming year. I have a firm conviction that setting New Year's resolutions for myself and writing them down will facilitate my development in some way, so I don't hesitate to put those resolutions in writing.
I'm not going to lie; however, as I get older, I find that whenever I read a post about New Year's resolutions, I can't help but let out a little bit of a sigh. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, despite the fact that I am a firm believer in the concepts of goals, inspirations, and being the most badass version of yourself.
Why I do not believe in making resolutions at the beginning of each new year? Because I believe that, when used in the manner in which they are frequently applied, they are the equivalent of preparing oneself to fail.
Why am I against New Year's resolutions? Because they often set you up for failure.
Please bear with me as I use a cheesy metaphor to explain why I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. Imagine that your life is a one big, developing city and that you've been living in it for 365 days, comparing it to a developing province with many hills and rough roads. In a big city, you can get anything right away, but the road splits every 365 miles. You have two options: you can live in a city with a sudden, huge, steep hill that you have to climb to keep going, or you can live a simple life but have to go through pain to stay alive. You would choose the big city for a lot of different reasons.
To many people, New Year's resolutions are just like that, and that's how they should be treated. Many people maintain their lives in precisely the same manner throughout the entire year, yet on December 31, they experience a surge of revitalization and fresh inspiration for the coming year. They claim that they are going to "finally" begin their weight loss challenge, or they decide to save money for the approaching new year, or they decide to be good sons and daughters to their parents, or they plan to make themselves wealthy for the next year!
And knowing that this is the way you think about setting New Year's resolutions, I congratulate you on a job well done! It is always to everyone's benefit to better themselves. It's no surprise that gym memberships skyrocket in January; this just goes to show how much people like to push themselves. However, as the month progresses, you'll notice that these numbers begin to decline gradually.
I don't believe in New Year's resolutions because they make huge expectations for yourself at one time of the year without a foundation for change. If you live in a big progressive city all year, then expect to achieve a huge objective on January 1st, you're setting yourself up for failure. I'm all for fulfilling promises, especially self-promises, but not maintaining your resolutions isn't about willpower because you're forcing yourself to choose between a major metropolis with a massive hill or a quiet life in a province. Any reasonable person would chose the city, even though you have to compete with the fast-growing economy. In short, BE REALISTIC!
The first day of the new year is an excellent opportunity to take stock of one's life, to initiate fresh beginnings, and to consider one's long-term goals and aspirations. These activities can all take place on the first day of the new year. But if you don't give any of this any thought until the first of the year, you're going to put a lot of pressure on yourself if you suddenly decide that you're going to start going to the gym first thing in the morning every day or traveling the world when you don't have enough money to do so. As I said, don't make yourself a FAILURE.
Imagine a life of simplicity, where you don't have to strive for anything and can instead take the easy route instead of the steep one up the mountain of your current situation. There may be some minor slopes and inclinations, but nothing too challenging. While it won't leave you completely spent, it will leave you with a reminder that you're always making progress by burning a little bit more muscle with each mile. If you stop and take stock of your progress at the conclusion, you'll see that you've come a long way and are far superior to where you were before.
In large part, the revelry of New Year's Eve contributes to the air of excitement and promise that permeates the start of a new calendar year. The best thing you can do for yourself is to resolve to do something that will bring you closer to your goals, make your daily life better, or do both. But if we treat a resolution as if it were something that would change our lives forever, focusing on our goals only at the end of the year and expending all of our energy going as high and as fast as possible, then those miles won't be enjoyable, because no one wants to scale a hill. Instead of basing a major life shift on what we don't want to do, we should be doing what makes us happy. Right?
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