Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

Resolutions, yea or nay?

Well, it’s five days into the new year, did you make any resolutions? And more importantly, did you break any yet?

Resolutions are a hard animal to wrangle. On the one hand, it gives you the opportunity to change, improve, or stop things like habits. On the other hand, it’s a tremendous amount of pressure to live up to.

Merriam Webster defines resolution as:

1: the act or process of resolving: as a: the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones b: the act of answering : solving c: the act of determining

Hm, so you’re taking a question or a problem and providing an answer or solution. If you think of it that way, I don’t think resolutions are so bad.

But if you think of resolution the way most people do for new year’s, well, then they suck.

Most resolutions are very broad like “I’m going to exercise more” or “I’m going to lose weight/quit smoking/eat less”. Vague and completely compromisable (believe me, I know firsthand).

However, let’s say instead you make resolutions that are very specific, it’s an attainable “solution” for you. For example, “I’m going to lose 50 pounds by this time next year”, or “I’m going to exercise 3 times a week”. Those are doable resolutions, yes?

So why do resolutions fail so often? I think gyms, sporting goods stores, and spandex retailers make a bloody fortune in January as we try to live up to our lofty resolution goals. Then by mid-February, the resolutions are collecting dust (along with the treadmill).

I’d like to make pledges to myself instead. I’m going to pledge to eat healthier, avoid sugar, and get back into an exercise routine (perhaps take up belly dancing again). I’m not happy with my physical fitness at this point (oh boy does it suck) so my pledges to myself are to change that situation. Let’s face it, I’m 40 and the longer I wait, the harder it’s going to get.

What do y’all think? Do you make new year’s resolutions? Or do you think they’re an antiquated PITA?