Why you shouldn't set New Year's resolutions (and what you should do instead)
Whenever a new year begins, there’s a lot of talk about resolutions, and I will candidly tell you that I don’t set them.
Today, I’m sharing with you not only why I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions, but what I would encourage you to do instead.
When January 1st rolls around, many people are tempted to sit down and list out their New Year’s Resolutions. Some families like to do this together. I’ve seen resolutions ranging from working out more and eating healthier to cleaning your house regularly or reading more.
Media supports this activity, too. Ads are running everywhere selling products and services that promote supporting you with your resolutions.
Whatever the resolution, we usually get really excited and are fired up for a few days or maybe even a few weeks. There’s a reason why gym memberships produce such a high percentage of their revenue at the beginning of a new year.
But these resolutions, however well intended, are setting you up for failure.
The definition of resolution is a firm decision to do or not do something.
And whether you realize it or not, when you say resolution, it has a sense of firmness or rigidness to it. It happens or it doesn’t. There’s nothing in between.
For example, if your resolution is to eat healthier in the New Year but, on day 5, you don’t feel like having that salad for lunch or things go sideways and you end up ordering pizza for dinner, what happens?
What do you do next?
In all likelihood, you feel like a failure and give up on your resolution because it’s just too hard. You can’t eat perfectly all of the time, so why bother?
Resolutions imply an all or nothing mentality. So the minute one day doesn't go as planned, we throw the whole thing out the window.
This is exactly why several years ago, I stopped setting New Year’s resolutions and started setting New Year’s Intentions instead.
We have all heard the phrase "being intentional"....but you ever really thought about what that means?
When you look up definitions for “intentional,” you will stumble across this:
“...you actively interact and engage with your life.”
Now think about the New Year. What do you want to actively do? What do you want to engage with in your life?
Instead of the dreaded “lose 10 pounds” resolution, what if instead you set an intention to be more engaged with your food choices and activity level.
Instead of resolving to declutter your home, what if instead you set the intention to be more thoughtful about what you bring in your home and what you can let go of.
Making this one small change from harsh, unforgiving resolutions to more flexible, thoughtful intentions will set you up so much better for a year of success.
Triangle mom Megan Sumrell is a former corporate executive turned entrepreneur. As a Time Management Expert for women seeking Work+Life Harmony, Megan teaches specific strategies to help women get on top of their time, calendar and goals while getting rid of stress, overwhelm, and exhaustion. For information on her upcoming live annual planning event, visit https://www.megansumrell.com/plan.
