No New Year's Resolutions
therealbrandonwilson • 29 Dec 2020 •
I realize that this site is up just in time for people to make New Year’s resolutions. I will not be participating in this activity, and I strongly encourage people who are planning some New Year’s resolutions to carefully consider them. Why am I so against New Year’s resolutions?
New Year’s resolutions seem like a good idea. New year. Fresh start. Perfect time to set some goals. The problem is that the science is pretty clear: the vast majority of people who declare New Year’s resolutions do not maintain them or keep them for very long. Why do people fail to keep New Year’s resolutions?
My theory is that these resolutions are tied to a meaningless date. January 1st is an arbitrary date on the calendar. People ascribe significance to this date as if it is somehow magical. There is nothing special about January 1st. Any day can be January 1st. If your habit or goal is worth it, why wait until January 1st? If it’s worth doing, it’s worth starting TODAY. January 1, 2021 falls on a Friday. I can already predict that people will fall behind before the weekend is over.
If you declare some New Year’s resolution on this site, I will be watching.
Comments
Great reminder on your take about NY resolutions! I faintly remember having a similar discussion last year on 200wad…didn’t we? Definitely it’s the spirit and the habit system that counts, but I do also like the tradition of new year resolutions. It’s like an invitation to reflect and review, and then look ahead with optimism. It’s generates a nice initial jumpstart of motivation, which any good habit forming endeavour needs. Just that most if us don’t really know how to sustain habit formation, that’s why NY resolutions fail. I’m for keeping NY resolutions, but with more common teaching/knowledge on how to keep them than start them. (like, why not teach habit formation formally in schools?!)
I’m with you except on keeping NY resolutions. In my view, they do more harm than good.
Agreed, just like any day can (and perhaps should be) be Valentines Day. Why should one day a year be reserved for giving roses to your loved one?