Rethinking Resolutions

I’ve been polling my friends: Are you for or against New Year’s resolutions? So far I’ve gotten a mix of responses from ‘they’ve never been for me’ to ‘my one big resolution is to drink more water ’ to ‘I want to try my first triathlon, so I’m starting swim lessons.’ 

With so much conversation around burnout, I was somewhat unsurprise to uncover an Atlantic opinion piece explaining why ‘Resolutions Are Not the Vibe for 2022.’ 

The author quickly gets to the heart of her stance in the upfront of the article: 

How 2022 will unfold is so uncertain that choosing new goals feels like setting forth in a snowstorm, squinting into a great blurry expanse. So I’ve resolved to not make any resolutions this year. And I don’t think you should either.

While I disagree that expected chaos is the right reason to give up on setting goals, I do agree 2022 is just the right kind of year to find our best selves from a place of gratitude. The article concludes with the author’s reflections on “small good things from the year that ended:” Things like baking with family for the holidays, getting vaccinated, growing closer to best friends and reading good poetry. 

As I enter into a new year, I’ve been thinking about my own stance on resolutions. I’m a capricorn (Dec 22 through Jan 20), so I love the focus and ambition that the New Year offers, but I also understand the backlash against January resolutions that can quickly feel like defeating chores. For me, the new year is less about setting up new daily habits or any sort of measurable accomplishment, and more about setting a theme and even mantra for the year. 

What is that one phrase, pearl of wisdom or ‘I am becoming’ statement that will offer up motivation for the next 12 months? 

I’ve decided I’m going to try on this quote for the new year: 

“The two most important days of a person’s life are the day they were born and the day they find out why.”

— Mark Twain 

I love how this line sparks a sense of urgency to look past routines, work, and the pressures of Instagram to something more personal, bigger — a treasure hunt to figure out calling. This quote sits near my tea pot, a place I frequent. The hope is that each time I pass this quote I consider spare time, maybe it’s 5 minutes or maybe it’s 50, and consider how that time can be directed toward anything that lets me live out the calling of that second most important day. 

But that’s just me. 

If resolutions feel like a recipe for burnout, you have the right to rethink them. If they’re totally not your jam, well hey, they weren’t predicted to be part of the vibe of 2022 anyway.