With the onset of the New Year, many resolutions are doing the rounds: reading more, spending less time on digital devices, losing weight, and sleeping better.
These are laudable personal goals.
Sticking to them can be challenging, as there is a reason why they are resolutions to begin with. They are not part of our everyday life.
When we set goals, we are not just ticking bullet points. We are actually choosing to be a different person, choosing habits and routines that determine who we want to be and how we want to be seen.
Resolutions often fail, not because we are intrinsically weak, but because they have been articulated vaguely or too abstractly to be implemented. ‘Be healthier’ or ‘change my lifestyle’ are too general to be itemised. Such resolutions need to be broken down further into doable bits.
Another reason for failure is because we are too ambitious in our goals. Again, leaning on a support system rather than assuming that we can achieve everything on our own could be high on the learning curve.
For resolutions to succeed, it is important to just follow some simple steps:
Make them specific and grounded: Rather than saying ‘I will read more’, it is better to state exactly what that means. It could be ‘I will read for half an hour everyday’. That is more specific, less abstract.
Build a system, not just a goal: Systems make for daily habits, which are more sustainable. Exercising more is a favourite goal for many of us. However, the system behind it is based on scheduling a time, or determining a friend to work out with. That will ensure that the goal will be achieved more realistically.
Start small: There is no need to make grand resolutions that are unachievable. It is better to stick to small, consistent acts and habits that compound over time. That cake slice can change into a bite size, but not eating it at all may be too ambitious.
Create accountability: That one person can be a friend, a colleague, or even a boss. Sharing resolutions makes the experience more communal and increases accountability. It makes it more difficult to under-achieve.
In fact, not all resolutions are made to succeed. Rather than viewing failure as proof of weakness, it can be seen as feedback, an invitation to adjust methods, timelines, or expectations.
Most importantly, it helps if our resolutions are based on more than just our own achievements. Involve a partner or a community and soon, the stakes will be higher. In this sense, achievements become participatory, with others having a stake in a shared future.
In fact, the right way to see New Year resolutions is to view them as a commitment to broader values and a shared future. It is only then that they become about issues larger than us, with a possibility to add value to our world, and a greater possibility to succeed.
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