Over time I’ve grown skeptical of people’s New Years Resolutions. Don’t get me wrong. The New Year is a great time to hit reset. There is no better time to hit the refresh button than at at the start of the new year, especially after a year like 2020!
But most tout their New Years Resolution as if major change will happen compared to the previous year simply by stating it. It is a nice start, but unfortunately it isn’t enough. It is why we only see the head lines and hash tags in January. By mid February, most have already forgotten what their New Years Resolution was and the gyms begin to clear out to their normal spacious capacity allowing easy access to the treadmill and weight machines of your choosing.
Resolutions can work, but only when we make the small changes in our daily routine to make them work. That may seem obvious but it seems to be the steps that most skip. It feels better to state our resolution giving us a temporary feeling of hope that things are going to change even if we know deep down that our future habits will probably produce pretty similar results to our habits from the previous year.
For this reason, I like to approach the New Year with establishing something better than a resolution. It can be small but can be more powerful than any stated resolution. A new habit.
The new year is a perfect time to start a new habit. We may be tempted to start many, but if we aren’t careful our ambition may lead to all our habit seeds burning out with none taking root.
What if we only planted one? What if we committed to one new habit this year? Even if it is tiny. What if we planted that seed and then paid close attention to it and watered it each and every day? What could that little habit turn in to by this time next year?
Resolutions are good. Habits are better.
Happy New Year!
