Most people start the new year with a resolution to improve some aspect of their life. These resolutions often have positive intentions, whether it be working out every day, studying more, being more honest, you name it. However, I didn’t make a New Year’s resolution this year, and I won’t continue to make them.
First of all, I don’t believe in waiting until January 1st to improve a part of my life. If it’s important, I should begin working on it the minute I think of it. If on July 6th I feel like I need to eat healthier, I will do so right then. If on December 27th I want to spend more time with my friends, I’ll plan a get together that day. Allowing myself to wait until January only gives way to procrastination. By the time New Year’s comes around, I’m less passionate about what I wanted to work on, and I’m already used to putting it off.
Along with not waiting until the new year, sometimes I need to improve multiple things about myself at the same time; A New Year’s resolution would pin me down to one thing. For example, I can try to be less judgmental, while staring a new yoga class and reading more books. Besides, people often feel bad when they drop their New Year’s resolution, but with multiple things to improve, if I drop one, I feel less bad dropping it because it’s not the only thing I’m working on.
Speaking of dropping a New Year’s resolution, it happens to so many people for so many reasons. The new year puts a pressure on me to keep at it, which actually is less productive for me because it makes my resolution a chore. When I’m not constrained by time, I actually stick to it longer, and it becomes a habit in my life. Also, if I end up not following through with it for a full year, I don’t feel as if I failed, so I feel more comfortable picking the habit back up later on.
Aside from the prior reasons, here is the most important reason I don’t have a resolution: New Year’s resolutions set me up to compare myself to others. Almost everyone has a New Year’s resolution, so people talk about it. I feel bad if I can’t keep up with my resolution, but one of my friends is still going strong with hers. Or if I hear my friend dropped hers, I feel less bad about not keeping up with mine. When I work on my life during the year, I don’t talk about it with others. I just do it.
Now, the reasons I’ve stated above are personal choices that work for me. If you like having a New Year’s resolution, then by all means I encourage you to have one. However, if my reasoning appeals to you, I encourage you to stop making those New Year’s resolutions and keeping up a continuous effort to improve your life.
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