Each year on January 1st, millions of people make millions of resolutions. They act as our hopes for the year, so to speak. And then, a couple of months later, (or for some, only a few weeks), the resolutions are broken as our New Year's motivation slowly slips away. But why even make a resolution? What do we hope to gain?
We all fall victim to it -- believing that once January 1st comes, we'll start going to the gym at least four times a week, or we'll suddenly become kinder to the people around us, or we'll be much more productive when it comes to doing our work.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that, as much as we wish it did. Our New Year's resolutions just won't stick this year, just as they didn't last year, or the year before that. But why? It's not because we didn't try hard enough, or want it as badly as we ever did, but because a time of year doesn't bring about change.
Changing our calendars and writing down a list of all we hope to accomplish doesn't mean that we're ready to accomplish those things. Most of the time, we don't even change because we choose it; we change because it happens naturally. A time of year can't spark that on its own. We have to be ready for it. Really, it all depends on our own mindset. If we come to the first day of the year with ten different resolutions and if we can't manage to keep them all, then we feel the New Year's resolution has failed us, and we go back to our old habits.
But if we come to the new year with small steps, we might be able to keep in stride for the entire year. Maybe it's something as little as not looking at your phone for ten minutes each day, or making sure to take time to walk outside at least once a week. They might not be big enough to be called resolutions, but they are all the more doable, and all the more catalysts for change.
So this New Years, don't make a resolution. Don't think about all the large changes you want to make in your life. Think about the little things, and watch as they make a difference that no New Year's resolution could bring on its own.
