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When New Year’s rolls around, everyone starts talking
about transformations. We set these giant goals to be a “new you,” and while I
don’t disagree with changing for the better, I think we use starting points
like New Year’s to wait to start working on our goals. Don’t get me wrong, it’s
good to start a transformation, but if a change really matters to you, and it’s
something you really want to participate in, then why are you waiting?
There’s also this attitude that if you miss one day of
this magical New Year’s resolution, you have failed and may have to wait ‘til
next year to really make that change. Any change is a process, so I think it’s
silly that there’s a belief that we will magically and completely change just
because the date now reads differently. You won’t suddenly start eating more
vegetables every single day, and you will miss a daily journal entry. Or maybe
you will get it, right away, and never go back to whatever old habit you were
trying to break, but most of my experience with New Year’s resolutions does not
suggest that outcome at all.
I know this is sounding really pessimistic, but that’s
not my intention at all. Rather, I say why not change whenever you want to! I
know, I’m as bad as anyone about delaying the start of a change, but I do
believe that if you are truly committed to something, the start date shouldn’t
matter, and a stumble or two shouldn’t be the end of your progress.
I’ve never been good at making or keeping New Year’s
resolutions. It’s like New Year, SAME me, and I’m really ok with that. If anything, I want to make smaller
resolutions, and take baby steps toward those elusive goals. I also want to
make sure that if I am going to commit to a change, I really am motivated by
it, and not for the wrong reasons. If I resolve to eat healthier, it should be
to feel better and not to satisfy some vision of a healthy and fit me. If I
resolve to create more, then it shouldn’t become a suffocating stressor on my
life, because that kills my creative spirit completely.
And so, if we are speaking in terms of tiny and ever-changing
resolutions, my resolution right now is to keep taking baby steps and keep
moving forward. And if a big change comes along that I can reasonably be
committed to, I resolve to take steps toward that change, no matter if it’s
January 1st or next December 31st.
Maybe that wasn’t the type of resolution you were looking
for, but that’s where I am right now. Just don’t forget, no matter how big or
small or wavering your resolutions are, you don’t have to wait to start them up
or keep them going! You are awesome, and every little step you take is moving
somewhere!
Stay lovely,
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