Hi all,
In last month’s newsletter, I mentioned that I no longer sit down at the start of a year and come up with a list of resolutions. I’ve come to realize over time that this isn’t a particularly rare stance. In fact, I can’t think of a single person that told me about a serious resolution at the start of 2019 (though to be perfectly clear, I didn’t ask everyone I met about serious resolutions).
Why are so many people I know refusing to participate in such a well-known tradition? I think there are two main reasons why people do not make New Year’s resolutions. The first reason is one I commonly hear – well, I don’t like to wait until New Year’s Day. This is pretty logical. It reminds me of the post I once wrote about how Rework dismissed ‘casual Friday’ by pointing out that a good idea on Friday should be a good idea for every other day of the week. I’m going to return to this idea at the start of next month and write more about how I apply it to my own daily routine.
The second reason is pure speculation on my part but I feel pretty good about my reasoning. I think resolutions are difficult for a lot of people because they sound like admissions of shortcomings, failure, or guilt. If I tell someone my resolution for the upcoming year is to get a gym membership, what does that suggest about how I view myself or my recent decisions? I don’t think anyone wants to burden a conversation partner with these kinds of revelations, especially during a festive time of the year. I’ve found that people are more receptive to different year-end questions – what are you looking forward to this year? – or – what was your best memory of last year? – and I think these sorts of questions capture the same spirit of the New Year’s resolution.
Thanks for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow with the triumphant return of proper admin.
Tim
