I hate New Year’s resolutions.
I think they that they a) give people the excuse to be “un-changeable” for the rest of the year b) are oftentimes too rigid and can actually take away from quality of life and c) …refer to a and b.
Think about it – wouldn’t you rather be the type person who has the motivation to change and grow every. single. day? I would. And why does everyone think that resolutions have to include some sort of discipline like losing weight or reading x-amount of books? That just leads to a bunch of bored and hungry people who will probably end up breaking their resolutions anyway, if you ask me.
Don’t get me wrong - I DO think that the start of a new year is the perfect time to reflect on the past 12 months and decide what you want to change for the upcoming year. And if you want to lose weight and read more books, power to you! I guess my point is that having this figurative clean slate in front of us should be a hopeful and exciting time – without a single hint of fear or anxiety that we might fail.
So for me – sure, I’ll probably have goals and things I’d like to experience in 2012 (I usually do) – but if they don’t work out…or if I don’t think of them until a few months from now…who cares? I’d much rather live a full, fun, and stress-free life than fall victim to the resolutions that are “supposed” to lead to just that.
What are your thoughts on New Year’s resolutions/goals? Do you have any?
I'm the girl, Gracie Gordon. Here at GML you can follow my journey of dreaming, working, eating, loving, and blogging my way through life in NYC.
I usually spend time reflecting on the past year and make a small list of some areas that I want to focus on for the New Year. I always make sure they are attainable though and leave some wiggle room for changes. I appreciate your perspective and I agree that it is important to not let these goals/resolutions rule your life. I just like them to be a vision of where I would like to be during the next year whether it be physical, spiritual, relational, etc.
Brittnie - we’re on the same page! I especially agree with:
“I just like them to be a vision of where I would like to be during the next year whether it be physical, spiritual, relational, etc.”
I completely agree. I never stick to my resolutions anyway because I forget within a couple of months lol. I’m just going to reflect on the past year and have goals that I would like to try to accomplish.
Right there with you - my goals for the year aren’t something I want to be locked into on 1/1. They will evolve with me as I grow through the year. Right now, I’m hoping to achieve a personal best in a 5k race in 2012. But that might change. I might want to complete a 10k instead! Or both, who knows!
I completely agree with you! I also feel like half the time people (me) never stick to these “resoultions”. I would rather change when I feel the time is right, not because some sparkly ball dropped.
p.s. Isn’t the ball kind of a let down? When I was a kid I literally thought that a giant ball would plummet to the ground..not slowly make it’s way down a pole.
Sad.
I definitely, definitely, see where you are coming from when it comes to fulfilling New Years goals… I generally like to set a few goals, but don’t really stress if it doesn’t work out. So many things take place in the year that we don’t expect on New Years Eve that can throw us for a loop. I just try to be as true to myself as I can be.
I was actually just drafting a post that’s along the same lines as this - talking about how resolutions can actually make your life worse, rather than better, because they’re too rigid. Great minds think alike!
I’m not going to make any. I’m going to change my life in 2012, but I don’t need to promise myself or anyone else that I will.
I totally agree!! Right before Christmas, I said to myself I wanted to make some changes in diet/exercise, so I did it then! I didn’t feel like I should have to wait until the new year.
I am not making any 2012 specific resolutions but instead focusing on the same goals I have had for a while.
Girl! Sometimes I feel like we are the same person (just on opposite sides of the country!) I’m not a fan of new years resolutions - wrote a blog post about this last year at the start of 2011! http://www.polish-my-crown.com/im-not-making-new-years-resolutions/. I’m so with you - we should be striving to be better, happier and healthier each and every day.
Happy holidays to you!!! xoxo
I think I’ve made a “resolution” every year but have followed through with it for eh, a week?! This year my Dear and I are setting two resolutions together: to save $$$ and set a wedding date… I think these are more attainable that years past and we can help hold each other accountable!
i couldn’t agree more. i always reflect upon the changes i made in the past year around new year’s time and think about things i’d like to accomplish in the upcoming year, but “resolutions” tend to be broken. i don’t feel the need to make just one, or a few, because i always have my dreams in mind. i’ll just stick to those and do my best to make the next year my best one yet
I agree, I never make them them and when I did I never kept them. I am going to make a different choiced this year because I need to to be a better person rather than, ‘I will go to the gym’, ‘I will shop less’. This year I will be a better me but because I have grown rather than changed.
Goals often act against us as they trigger the fight or flight response in the brain. Once this response is on, other functions like rational thinking and creativity slow down or even die for a while.
- This is why you forget what you studied just a day ago when you are taking an important exam.
- This is why there is “writer’s block”.
- This is why people decide to lose weight and then they go on and eat cake.
Goals are good when they are manageable and they fill us with excitement. If it’s too big, then fight or flight response will be turned on and failure is guaranteed.
Breaking big goals into pieces is the best strategy to have goals that work for you instead of against you!
And those little goals are good for any time of the year!
Amen sister!
I love the message of this post- you really have inspired me to make positive changes and choices in my life starting right now! There really is no need to wait for some magical day, though I too understand how picking a significant day to make changes like January 1 is better than not making better choices at all!
I usually reflect on the past year, like you said, and resolve to do better in some areas. But I definitely don’t rigidly hold myself to them or beat myself up if I fail. Life is an adventure and should be spontaneous and fun!
(Although I really should watch less TV next year… Ha, ha).
[...] 2012 goal #1. On that note… [...]
Nothing such as resolutions. I’m always making goals and rewriting them so it’s yearlong. In the past, I’ve made resolutions in August or September due to being in school or working in schools - that’s when the new year begins for me.
[...] glad I’m not the only girl who thinks NYE resolution’s blow. Girl Meets Life explains that these so-called “resolutions” should be attempted to resolved everyday. [...]
“I’d much rather live a full, fun, and stress-free life than fall victim to the resolutions that are “supposed” to lead to just that.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself!
I wish I had seen this post in the beginning of the year because it was just today I was so down on myself about letting my resolutions go. I think people, including myself put so much pressure on making resolutions when really they should focus on each day at a time and how they want to make that day better than yesterday. LOVE this post!
It’s not too late!! Life is too short to feel like you have to hold to strict resolutions, especially because every single day is an amazing opportunity to change things. I actually woke up this morning determined to reverse the “funk” I’ve been in over the past week. We can do this!