Every year at this time I see a caucoffany of posts, blogs, vlogs, stories and reels about how someone either is, or is not, a ‘Resolutions’ person.
So let me get this out of the way right away, I absolutely am a resolutions kind of guy but I also acknowledge that….
There is nothing miraculous about the calendar flipping from one year to the next. The fact that the date is now 1/1/xxxx means nothing in the grand scheme of things.
But obviously being a self proclaimed resolutions guy, I do think there is something extremely valuable in making New Year’s resolutions for the majority of the population. Why? The mere act of setting goals (aka resolutions) can be life changing and doing them on a regular cadence brings a value unto itself. Let’s examine the process for a moment.
It’s Rythmic:
There is a reason we all change our smoke detector batteries when the time changes. Or why my home air filters are changed out every January 1st and July 4th. It has nothing to do with freedom from dust or the celebrating of new year, new filter….it has everything to do with rythm. The rythm of prioritizing the following additional benefits……like knowing the smoke detector will not beep randomly at 2 AM on a Wednesday morning.
It forces Self Reflection:
“The unexamined life is not worth living.
– Socrates, Apology (399 BC)
One cannot chose an area of life to improve upon if one does not evaluate that same life. Even the default resolutions that people like to bash; lose 5 lbs, save more money, eat less sugar, workout more……is still the beginning of the hard work of self reflection.
It brings out a Willingness to be better:
Examining one’s life and choosing to do something based on the observations are two very different skill sets. And even though 43% of all New Year’s Resolutions have already been discarded by the end of the January, 9% make it through the entire year (study link here) – every action towards the end goal should be celebrated and viewed as progress…..not perfection.
It imposes A Deadline:
I’ll start next week……..I’ll stop drinking after the weekend……I’ll save from the next paycheck……I’ll call Mom next weekend.
We’ve all done it. This is the one good thing about the calendar flipping to 1/1/xxxx…..for some, it is the deadline……or better expressed, the starting line.
Vision casting:
The process of setting New Year’s Resolutions is an opportunity to visualize the future you desire.
As a case in point, my wife and I have an annual tradition where we come together some time between Christmas and Jan 5th (our son’s birthday) for a very special date night. We intentionally get together to share our New Year’s resolutions – and then decide on where we will come together and achieve them as a couple. It’s a framework we were taught a few years ago but our goals always center around the 6 F’s
- Family – What does a healthy family look like in the next year and how can we intentionally strive towards it?
- Friends -How can we better show up as friends to those special to us?
- Faith – How are we going to intentionally grow our faith and our walk in the upcoming year?
- Finances – What are the accomplishements in our business, or careers, our savings that we will accomplish this year?
- Fitness – How will we maintian what we have, get healthier in ways we can and what crazy goal is Andrew going to set for himself this year?? (answer: 10,000 push-ups and 10,000 pull ups)
- Philanthropy (yes, I know but is sounds like an F) – How can we be more giving in the upcoming year than we were in the last? With our time, skills and finances?
So if you are among the 34% of Americans who are setting New Year’s Resolutions….good for you!! I celebrate you!!
If you are among those who say ‘I don’t need a calendar day to set and crush goals’….good for you!! I celebrate you!! I set a lot of goals throughout the year that have nothing to do with Father Time handing the mantle off to Baby New Year as well. Let’s just stop bashing those that do.
At the end of the day, goal setting matters. Regardless of what calendar date you happen to choose to start taking action.