I truly hate New Year’s resolutions. The idea that now that we have turned the page on another year, month, day, or simply hour has led us to be a new and improved person is utter nonsense. The truth is, over 90% of these “resolutions” fail every year, most within the first two weeks. To rely on another ‘X’ through a calendar date to strive towards your goals is just another way to procrastinate them, an excuse to be complacent. The reasoning behind my resent towards these resolutions stem from three core ideas – always start now and not later, celebrate every win, and make goals realistic and attainable. Here, the idea of resolutions are not thrown out the window but instead made sustainable.
1. Start not, not later
New year’s resolutions create this idea that once January first comes we will be dedicated to being a new person – fixing our old habits and creating new ones. For many, these are genuine lifestyle changes, like working out or eating better. These goals are great things to strive for, so why wait? When making resolutions, we are choosing goals that will improve our quality of life, but when something is important to you (or your health) then why are we waiting for a date on a calendar to dictate when we strive for this idealized life. As a society we have been saying it for years, “don’t put off till tomorrow what can be done today,” and yet still this idea of rebranding in January is normalized. Let me ask you this, how many new year’s resolutions are going to pass before you make this life look like your own?
2. Celebrate every win
As I’ve grown older, the width of my goals has grown with me, but there was a time when they were as simple as making it another year. Creating these large resolutions to achieve within the year often sets expectations unrealistically high for the coming. Yes, I urge you to push yourself, but only while still allowing yourself to enjoy the small wins along the way. If we set one, over-arching goal, of which is often publicized to everyone around you, you often create a paralyzing pressure in which all successes may seem grim in comparison. Having goals keeps you motivated and is crucial to improvement. In this process, remembering to celebrate the small wins and recognize how far you have come is just as crucial and even if this one resolution falls flat, there is so much more to be proud of in this life.
3. Realistic and attainable
There is no point of setting a resolution that is destined to fail. If you are struggling with something simple in your daily life but creating yearly resolutions that push far beyond your threshold for change, you are setting yourself up for nothing but disappointment. Beyond this, if already struggling in some capacity in your life, this will likely only worsen its quality upon failure. Up-rooting your life due to a date change is not going to be successful – start small and start habits that you will genuinely be able to accomplish. For example, instead of your resolution being to go to the gym seven days a week, start with one and build up from there. Having a plan in place to reach your resolution and being realistic with this process and timeline is going to get you much farther than the large idea you call your “new year’s resolutions”. This process, patience, and understanding of your genuine standing in life is what creates long-lasting change which should always be the goal.
With 2026 landing in our laps, I will be the first to say I have a long list of goals to mark off, but none are what I would call my resolution for the year. Perhaps this will be the year you forget about the resolution you made back in 2025 and start creating a real, realistic plan to change your lifestyle.
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