If I’m being brutally honest, I think New Year’s resolutions are the dumbest idea, most of the time their empty goals of obtaining the person we desire to be and the thing we desire to have. In theory it sounds like a productive plan, decide what you want, set a goal then give yourself a year to obtain it but every New Year’s resolution I’ve had has almost always fallen through. I could probably count on one hand how many people I know that have actually gone through with it, obtained the goal and continued to stay at that point for a period of time, which just goes to show how unproductive this seemingly productive idea really is.
I think the problem with New Year’s resolutions is not that people are lazy and lack the ability to commit to something rather I just think people set these goals in a way that’s setting them up for failure.
My thing is every time I’ve set this type of goal, that’s all it really seems to be. I’ve planned to hit the gym four times a week or cut down the amount of caffeine I consume. Are they productive goals? Yeah, but I guess I never broke down the way they are and really looked deep into and understood the intention behind my actions.
At the start of the new year, I didn’t set some New Year’s resolution, rather I went to Target and bought this really pretty sage green journal, and inside, I just started writing. I wrote about my biggest insecurities, the things in my life which I’m grateful for, what I’m worried about and excited about and so much more.
Not only was it so good to just write out literally every thought in my brain, but I also had a visual of the things I love and want to continue loving.
Knowing this gave me the ability to not just create a New Year’s resolution, or some goal that I’ll throw away in two weeks, it gave me the ability to understand the intention behind my actions.
Instead of setting the goal to go to the gym four days a week I thought about why it is I even like going to the gym in the first place. One thing I realized is that I like running for so many more reasons than just staying in shape.
It helps clear my mind and lessens my anxiety, I grew up playing sports so i have this natural competitive side which loves to go up against a challenge, running gives me the perfect opportunity to do this.
Not only did I realize all of this but by writing in my journal I also realized that I struggle with just sitting in my thoughts, yes, I think a lot, but when I am anxious or stressed, I do whatever I can to avoid having those thoughts in my head.
I know this is a pretty normal thing, but I also know that there’s nothing wrong with just sitting in the uncomfortable for a moment. I know that I’m never going to grow as a person from just resorting back to what I’m comfortable and familiar with.
Since I realized that a big reason on why I love working out is because it offered me a challenge, I decided that I needed to capitalize on it. I realized that setting a goal to work out a few times a week was not going to help me grow.
I started taking my headphones off when I run, something I’d never thought I would do because I’m a sucker for a good pump-up song.
When I didn’t look at the intention behind doing the things I love, and setting the goals I used to set seemed like I just checked off a box on a to-do list. Maybe in one area I improved, but there was no growth in who I was as a whole person.
By understanding why it is I love running, I was able to capitalize on it and create a plan which was not just designed to be a New Year’s resolution or to get better at running. I was able to develop my love for running further by challenging myself more and helping myself grow as a whole person not just in one area.
I might just think this so I don’t have to admit I’m just being defensive for not accomplishing previous New Year’s resolutions, but beside this point, I honestly think looking at why I do the things I love rather than just setting a goal to improve on them has helped me achieve more personal growth in just a month than I have in the past few years.
We will see if it sticks.