Skip the Resolutions This Year
Happy New Year.
A holiday that evolves over the years of our aging journey. A holiday that seems to have two very different segments.
There is the actual holiday - New Year’s Day, often the let down from the night before. The day we spend relaxing, recovering and watching our favorite teams in the big game.
Then we have “the show.” New Year’s Eve, the big event that can either go very well, or not so well. I have experienced both in my years of celebration.
My first memory of New Year’s Eve was in 1960 watching (on TV) the ball drop in Times Square, hosted by Guy Lombardo on CBS. The first ball drop, in Times Square, was in 1907, and no, I did not see it that year. Don’t ya love old people jokes?
I did participate in the raucous merriment in the day. I was “over-served” one year and am still not able to drink a Tequila Sunrise, or even smell one.
My favorite celebration had to be when my kids were young and we had the brilliant idea of moving the clocks forward two hours so we could celebrate in “Rio (de Janeiro) time”. Not sure if we did it for the kids or for us, the tired parents. Either way, we had fun and were fast asleep when the ball dropped in Time Square.
What about this “New Year’s resolution” thing? The ancient Babylonians are often given credit for starting this time honored tradition some 4,000 years ago. They were also thought to have had the first recorded celebrations to honor the New Year in mid-March when crops were planted. We have been lying to ourselves on New Years for a long time.
Julius Caesar tinkered with the calendar and established January 1 as the beginning of the New Year circa 46 BC. It was fitting to make January the beginning of the year as the month was named after the Roman God Janus who symbolically looked backwards and forward into the future. The Romans offered sacrifices to the deity and made promises of good conduct in the coming year. More lies?
Fast forward to us now. Forty five percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions but only 8% are successful in keeping them. January 17 has actually been declared Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day as a result of so many people recklessly abandoning their lofty promises of renewal and return to the old way of life (after 16 days).
So here is my thought - let’s skip the whole New Years Resolution thing. There is just something about this “time-honored” process that does not seem to work for us. I am not suggesting we don’t try to upgrade our game, I am just thinking there may be a better way.
Before I go any further, let me address the elephant in the room (ok, on the page). I am older. Why am I bothering talking about some “improvements” to my life? Shouldn’t I just settle in and be fine with the way things are now? Fair question.
To explain, let me harken back to my days in junior high gym class. We ran the mile, an event I was not fond of since it was four times around the track. What I remember most about the event was that I somehow found new energy on the last lap, the last 25% of the race. Apparently this is a good running strategy. Expert runners even have a term for it - negative split, meaning the segment is actually faster, or better, than the previous segment. All in the attempt to “finish strong.” I like it.
Let’s do this. Let’s finish strong.
So instead of a resolution, let’s reflect and revise. Let’s look at the big picture and how we can make life better. And for this we need to turn to the experts. How about a little advice from James Clear, author of the best selling book Atomic Habits. Clear says “It is hard to change habits if you never change the underlying beliefs that led to past behavior.” A few thoughts from the book:
Decide the type of person you want to be.
Prove it to yourself with small wins.
Ask yourself - what would ______do! (fill in the blank as the person you want to be)
Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits.
People who make a specific plan (including when, how, where and why) are more likely to succeed with the new habit becoming the new reality.
There is so much more to learn from James Clear that I suggest you add Atomic Habits to your reading list for 2024.
Just to wrap things up, let me once again wish you a Happy New Year, and a wonderful 2024. I am not sure how many more times I will be watching the ball drop. My guess is fewer than I have already seen. I say that not to be morbid, but to be motivational. Soon, I will be coming to the last lap in my life race. This is a great time to reflect and revise. I just want to finish strong.
Enjoy your day,
Just a little extra-
Before I leave I want to share just a few more thoughts about building the new habits we need. Most are from our friend, James Clear.
Start small - take the stairs, park in the back of the lot, skip dessert unless it is chocolate.
Focus on the process - behaviors and habits. The outcome will come.
Don’t think all or nothing, it often leads to nothing.
Plan the how, when and why. Habits and life needs to change.
Think long term. What does the new normal look like.
I am in, please join me.
References
Cherry, Kendra. January 20,2023. 10 Great Tips to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions. Verywell Mind
Clear, James. Atomic Habits, the book
Pruitt, Sarah. December 19,2023. The History of New Year’s Resolutions. History.com
Robinson, David. January 2,2022. Are New Year’s Resolutions Pointless? BBC.com