Although time has passed us along for yet another year, there are still traditions that time hasn’t been able to erase. The classic tropes associated with humanity’s collective cheer as our planet finishes its revolution around the sun – from parties in celebration, family gatherings in remembrance, traveling to Times Square to feel the pulsating heartbeat of the city among a million tourists, or going about the day without a second thought, there are several unique ways people bring in the new year.
One of the most prominent ways people accept the inevitable passage of time is through tradition. Most holidays have them, but few are as strangely varied as those done at New Years: eating twelve grapes under the table, smashing plates, midnight kisses, and all sorts of festivities. But the most curious tradition isn’t one we do during New Years, but rather what we plan to do for the three hundred and sixty five days after it.
Resolutions are meant to provide a motive for completing your goals. They are official declarations we make to ourselves that we will do that one thing we’ve been putting off for ages. This newfound resolve is meant to carry through the rest of the year, helping us stay dedicated to upholding its progress until the year’s completion.
But the resolutions most Americans are familiar with consist of making unrealistic or half-baked plans to forge good habits, only for them to completely fall apart by February and to go back to the way of living they’re accustomed to, until the first of January next year. This is not to say that all of these resolutions are dead on arrival, but 94% of a sample group who admitted their resolutions were reduced to redundancy isn’t promising. Still, there’s a percentage of Americans and international individuals who manage to follow through on these intentions.
The miracle behind their completion is simple: Their resolutions are simple. Instead of making major commitments or decisions that they might find difficult to maintain, they focus on smaller goals that they can control. While forgetfulness is one reason some resolutions lose steam, it often comes down to having unrealistic goals with improper goal setting which prevents tracking progress and following through. People are fickle. When we’re put in a situation where everyone seems to be in the mood of changing things, we might go along for the ride and say we’re going to change as well. But after the thrill is over, and it’s been a month since, some people might put up their arms and get off the wagon. It’s a lot easier to disregard the urge to give up when you feel more confident in your ability to do what you want to do.
But if failure is so prevalent among those who make resolutions, why do three out of ten Americans make them regardless? What’s the point in telling yourself you’re going to do something you know that you won’t? Maybe it comes down to the indomitable human spirit, to make all odds and statistics futile, and become the best version of yourself. But it’s probably because it’s easier to say you’re planning to do something and do nothing at all. But there’s something easier than to make resolutions – just doing it. Just starting and accepting that it’s not a phase, not something you start in the beginning of every year, but only a part of the life you’re living over these years. So, the point of resolutions? They’re pointless. You don’t need to be at the start of something to just start.
