The Resolution Solution

It’s that time of year again. The time when everyone is making or has made a resolution for the New Year. We resolve to do something that either helps ourselves or helps others and almost always we fail to deliver. We hear jokes about our resolutions and about keeping them; jokes we find funny because we can all connect with abandoning a resolution. Our resolutions normally have the life span of a marriage to Britney Spears (and for those of you that don’t get the reference, this means "short").
I’ve always found keeping resolutions is futile. That’s why I’ve never made one (or maybe I’ve never made one because I know I can’t keep it; either way I don’t make resolutions). We never keep our resolutions, so to me, I’d rather not waste my time trying to complete something that I’ll just abandon anyways. Yet every year we resolve to do something out of our norms that will help to better ourselves.
Here are the top 10 New Years Resolutions that I found when I did a quick internet search; (10) get organized, (9) help others more, (8) learn something new, (7) get out of debt, (6) quit drinking, (5) enjoy life more, (4) quit smoking, (3) lose weight, (2) get in better shape, and (1) spend more time with family and friends. Looking at this list, these are things we should constantly be trying to do, not resolving to do in a given year. I’m sure that people reading this can connect with at least one of the resolutions listed here; if not this year’s than in a prior year’s.
I understand the purpose of the resolution. It’s meant to give us the little extra incentive that we need to accomplish a big life goal. The start of the New Year presents an opportunity for new beginnings and subsequently, new behaviors. However, we are all creatures of habit and even with the extra push from a New Years Resolution, we still find ourselves at least coming up short or even giving up altogether. Sometimes we forget or sometimes our goals are just too hard to accomplish.
A very similar practice is found in the Catholic ritual of observing Lent; practicing Catholics will normally abstain from something for the duration of the 40 days of Lent and might also abstain from eating meat on Fridays. Although there are less Catholics that actually partake and follow through in this ritual, there are still some. I’m curious to know how successful they are because, to be honest, I think 40 days of abstaining from something is easier than changing habits for an entire year let alone for life.
I think there are two ways to be successful with your New Years Resolution; (1) do as I do and don’t make one (you can’t fail at something you don’t try) or (2) start small. By starting small and working on a small change in one’s life, it can really build momentum for next year’s resolution. To use an exercise analogy, you can’t just go out and run a marathon because you decide to. You first start by jogging a bit and working your way up to longer distances. Start with a small resolution for a short amount of time and then work your way up to larger goals and longer time frames. By completing the smaller resolutions, you will build synergy to take on larger resolutions and have a better chance of accomplishing them.
So this year, when you’re making your resolutions and trying to follow through, I hope you think about what I’ve written and take baby steps towards your goals in the hopes of accomplishing the big resolutions. You might just find the solution to your resolution.