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Some people need a certain date or a new calendar year to set a goal. New Year’s resolutions have been around for a long time. Today, less than 25% stick to their goal before the month of January is over.
While it is a brilliant marketing ploy by the fitness and fad weight loss industry to reel you in, Holly Haze has some input to help lessen the guilt. “I have never had a New Year’s resolution in my life, nor do I plan to ever have one. I don’t believe in the hype or nonsense of it all. I believe in inspiration. I believe in goals and betterment. Resolutions? no. I have a few reasons for that but mainly this: we are not guaranteed tomorrow, so why would you wait to start some thing? If you want something badly enough, just do it. I’m not a fan of the pressure it puts on a person. A calendar is a made up time line. Babylonians were the first to make these resolutions and their new year was celebrated in March. A month is just a made up time line, a year is just a group of days, etc. If you need some arbitrary date to ‘make a change’, you’re most likely never going to stick to any plan anyway.”
Most people want a quick fix for any goal…diet, health, financial. All goals take time. With resolutions, we don’t give ourselves enough time and give up too easily. That makes total sense since most lofty goals set you up for failure.
Holly continues, “We’ve been culturally indoctrinated to focus on results–the end game, the transaction, the goal, and the finish line–rather than the process. If you feel the need to make a resolution, at least set yourself up for success. Instead of focusing on the goal, focus on embracing the activities that bring you closer to the goal? So, instead of saying ‘I’m going to lose 10 pounds’, how about, ‘I’m going to work out three times a week for 30 minutes’. Or instead of, ‘I’m going to write a book in 2022’, you agree to ‘write 500 words each day’. So, sure, a new year is a great time to reevaluate your life, to start with a clean slate and think about what you really want. But if you only consider these things on January 1st, you sure are asking a lot of yourself if you suddenly decide you’re going to write 2,000 words every day or hit the gym at 6 a.m. every morning.”
Resolutions shouldn’t be destinations, but rather the habits and the behaviors that give us the power to reach those destinations. Changing a budget is a lifestyle change. Losing weight should be a lifestyle change. None of these things can or will happen overnight.
Holly adds, “If we’ve learned ANYTHING in the past two years, it’s that we need to focus on today, health wise, and relationship wise. If you haven’t worked toward betterment and instead relied on other quick fixes, then reassess.”
Take aways: if you must make resolutions, then make them for yourself every day. Always work towards bettering yourself in any way that would make you (and only you!) truly happy; don’t just save it for January. Instead of “there’s always next year”, change it to “there’s always tomorrow”.
