I’ve heard that two to three weeks into the year is when people start to give up on their New Year’s resolutions for many different reasons. Something comes up to break the habit, we forget, decide that one little slip is okay, etc. Pretty quickly the “new year, new me” phase fades away and all we’re left with is the image of something we could have done; we console ourselves with, “there’s always next year.” But, when we really stop to think about it, how much did that resolution actually mean if it was set on the back burner after only a couple of weeks?
It seems that resolutions have become a tradition with very little power remaining to them, especially when we all come together and connect on our failed resolutions. It’s just something we do because it’s what we’ve always done, but resolutions used to have actual meaning. They had to, otherwise it wouldn’t have become the tradition that it is now. As it stands, resolutions don’t seem to mean much anymore, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t.
After making resolutions pretty much every year of my life, I finally decided not to make a typical New Year’s resolution. I decided my resolution would be to devote my time and energy on changes I would decide to make as the year progresses and try to only focus on one or two things at a time. Essentially, my goal is to simplify and prioritize my choices throughout the year, like learning French — only when I’m done with French will I move on to focusing on another task.
Resolutions have as much power and meaning as you want them to have.