Screw New Year’s Resolutions

In grade school, my teachers often gave me the homework assignment of coming up with New Year’s resolutions. Being a kid, the resolutions I wrote were a bunch of crap because (a) I didn’t really care and (b) it was a homework assignment.

With the year coming to a close, I imagine my social media will have plenty of New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately, I think a lot of the resolutions that people write are still a bunch of crap.

I don’t have a problem with the idea of New Year’s resolutions. In fact, I think it’s a quite natural time to come up with resolutions. Everything new gives you a chance to clean up some mental baggage and aim to do things better. My problem is that people don’t understand why they want their resolutions. In other words, (a) they don’t really care and (b) it was just something to post on social media.

So, what is there to do?

1. Make Normal Resolutions

Drop the “New Year’s.” You can make resolutions on New Year’s, if you want, but don’t confuse the feel-good feelings of New Year’s with the dedication needed for making resolutions. Resolutions can (and should) be made at any time that they’re needed.

2. Make Real Resolutions

There’s an ugly truth that everyone (out of grade school) knows about resolutions but no one wants to acknowledge. They’re hard. Not in the sense that they’re always taxing to do, but in the sense that it’s difficult to persist and keep working towards them.

In other words, if you want to make a resolution, make sure you’re mentally committed to it. Make sure it’s something you’re actually capable of doing.

Sometimes, this means changing your resolution. At some point last year I decided that I wanted to cook more and eat out less. For me, cooking more meant cooking anything. But making that kind of commitment (and investment in cooking supplies) was more than I could handle at the time. So my goal was just to cook eggs in the morning.

3. Think About Future You

Again, sticking to resolutions can be hard. All it takes to break a resolution is to be lazy for a day, which turns into a week, which turns into a month, which turns into a year, which turns into a lifetime. Sound like a slippery slope? It is.

When you come up with your resolution, also figure out some idea of what you want future you to look like. Then remember to ask yourself regularly if you’ve become future you yet.

I’m a bit of a masochist, so everyday I ask myself if I’ve become future me by squeezing my belly fat. I’m always shocked to find out that the answer is still “no,” then I decide to go to the gym. Pick something that works for you. Maybe how good you feel after working out, how much your weight has changed, whatever.

That image of future you is there for when you don’t feel like following your resolutions. Sometimes you’ll want to be lazy for a day, week, month, or more. That’s okay — just remember that it will take you that much more time before you become future you. Usually you’ll just be making an excuse and remembering future you will be enough to get you to push forward.

Fin

That’s essentially everything that keeps me motivated. If you really feel anxious not making New Year’s resolutions, here’s an idea on something to do instead: New Year’s reflections. Look back on the progress you’ve made on your resolutions in the past year and figure out what kind of adjustments you might need to make. After all, present you is a year closer to last year’s future you.

If you found this interesting, go let your friends know that they should screw their New Year’s resolutions too.