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Abstract

that you’re lonely, depressed, anxious, sad, irritable, lazy, etc. And hey, maybe you are, but are setting resolutions that you’re unlikely to keep really going to help any of those things? Aren’t they more likely to make you feel more lonely, depressed, anxious, sad, irritable, lazy, etc.?I’ve never met a resolution that I could keep. They’ve ranged from being more active each day to learning moderation to buying many dogs (is that a resolution?) and each year I fail miserably around January 5th.Far from making me feel all jazzed and accomplished. They mainly make me feel lazy and problematic. That I’m one of those personality types that can just never see anything through.The frustration around my inability to keep any of my new year’s resolutions swirls around me until I give in, and let the ones I was contemplating for a while, fade into the distance. I snap pencils and throw out whiteboards.I become annoyed with myself for buying an(other) expensive running bra that will never be worn. These feelings of resentment boil and bubble and I’m left starting the new year in a worse way than I ended the last one.Obviously, I could set more realistic goals.. but isn’t the point of a resolution one you know you’re unlikely to keep?It’s essentially setting yourself up to fail every single year. Unless you’re one of those, one in a million people, who can actually keep a resolution going or you’re one of those people who picked a resolution that you’re already doing (which is cheating by the way).If you fall into the former category, then good for you! I salute you and your dedication to whatever it is you’ve decided to dedicate yourself to.If you don’t fall into either of those categories, then the question I have for you is why? Why are you doing it to yourself?The main reason you set a resolution is surely because it’s something you feel you should be doing or it’s something you feel you should like. Like musicals or immersive theatre.You should

Options

be running every day, joining the gym, giving up sugar, watching less television, being less sensitive or being more sociable.Whatever it is, it’s something that you haven’t chosen to do for the last year (or the year before) so why on earth would you randomly start doing it now? What would 2022 give you that 2021 or 2020 didn’t?Obviously, the pandemic has gotten in the way of a lot of plans, so hopefully, 2022 will give you something different, a pandemic-free existence for one. But do you really need to give yourself a resolution?Couldn’t you surprise yourself instead? Take a more relaxed approach to the year ahead and decide that whatever happens, happens. If you do end up going for a run every day or giving up sugar, awesome.But if you don’t, still awesome. You don’t have to feel guilty. You don’t have to plaster it all over your social media, so strangers on the internet can ‘hold you accountable’ — you can just do it. Or not!The new year is a great time to make excuses for past behaviour and try to do things that will make up for it. Setting a resolution won’t automatically make you any more accountable for your actions. And the inevitable failure of them will just make you feel worse in the long run.So this year, maybe don’t set a resolution. Make that your resolution (joking). Enjoy life as it comes, make the best decisions you can in the moment and stop pressuring yourself into things you’ll likely never do. Life is way too short for that.Besides, you’ll likely have forgotten all about the resolution you made by the time March rolls around, so why not just forget it completely?As for me, this is the first year that I’ve decided not to set any resolutions — life is too unpredictable. And the last thing I need is to stare at a post-it note telling me to go for a run each time I near the fridge.May 2022 be a good one for you, dear reader. And if after reading this, you decide to set a resolution anyway, no judgement. Just make sure it's a good one, yeah?</article></body>

Have You Considered Not Setting a New Year’s Resolution?

Seriously.

It’s that time of year (again, I mean really how quickly is time even passing anyway?) The remnants of your Christmas Day turkey are slowly being removed from the fridge.

Your besparkled Christmas tree is languishing ever so slightly in the corner. The socks you got for Christmas are placed firmly on your feet.

You’re probably feeling a little lost right now, maybe even a little sad. The anticipation of Christmas has passed, and you’re trapped in that strange chasm of time between Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Is time even real? Do you really need to get out of bed today? How long can roast potatoes stay in the fridge before they stop being edible? Is drinking goose fat neat a thing?

All of these thoughts and feelings are valid. You’re not alone in them. People all around the world are considering the exact same things you are. They’re feeling the exact same way you are too. As time drags on and you’re pulled to the jaws of the New Year, you’re probably starting to see those articles about New Year’s resolutions.

You know the ones. They usually start with a question about your life or the year just gone. Rarely positive, they’re always centered around your current failures, with tips on how to magically improve everything next year.

All you need to do is set a resolution. What areas of your life need work? Which resolutions are the most achievable for you? What have you been really unhappy with this year that you can vaguely improve next year?

They seem to assume that you’re lonely, depressed, anxious, sad, irritable, lazy, etc. And hey, maybe you are, but are setting resolutions that you’re unlikely to keep really going to help any of those things? Aren’t they more likely to make you feel more lonely, depressed, anxious, sad, irritable, lazy, etc.?

I’ve never met a resolution that I could keep. They’ve ranged from being more active each day to learning moderation to buying many dogs (is that a resolution?) and each year I fail miserably around January 5th.

Far from making me feel all jazzed and accomplished. They mainly make me feel lazy and problematic. That I’m one of those personality types that can just never see anything through.

The frustration around my inability to keep any of my new year’s resolutions swirls around me until I give in, and let the ones I was contemplating for a while, fade into the distance. I snap pencils and throw out whiteboards.

I become annoyed with myself for buying an(other) expensive running bra that will never be worn. These feelings of resentment boil and bubble and I’m left starting the new year in a worse way than I ended the last one.

Obviously, I could set more realistic goals.. but isn’t the point of a resolution one you know you’re unlikely to keep?

It’s essentially setting yourself up to fail every single year. Unless you’re one of those, one in a million people, who can actually keep a resolution going or you’re one of those people who picked a resolution that you’re already doing (which is cheating by the way).

If you fall into the former category, then good for you! I salute you and your dedication to whatever it is you’ve decided to dedicate yourself to.

If you don’t fall into either of those categories, then the question I have for you is why? Why are you doing it to yourself?

The main reason you set a resolution is surely because it’s something you feel you should be doing or it’s something you feel you should like. Like musicals or immersive theatre.

You should be running every day, joining the gym, giving up sugar, watching less television, being less sensitive or being more sociable.

Whatever it is, it’s something that you haven’t chosen to do for the last year (or the year before) so why on earth would you randomly start doing it now? What would 2022 give you that 2021 or 2020 didn’t?

Obviously, the pandemic has gotten in the way of a lot of plans, so hopefully, 2022 will give you something different, a pandemic-free existence for one. But do you really need to give yourself a resolution?

Couldn’t you surprise yourself instead? Take a more relaxed approach to the year ahead and decide that whatever happens, happens. If you do end up going for a run every day or giving up sugar, awesome.

But if you don’t, still awesome. You don’t have to feel guilty. You don’t have to plaster it all over your social media, so strangers on the internet can ‘hold you accountable’ — you can just do it. Or not!

The new year is a great time to make excuses for past behaviour and try to do things that will make up for it. Setting a resolution won’t automatically make you any more accountable for your actions. And the inevitable failure of them will just make you feel worse in the long run.

So this year, maybe don’t set a resolution. Make that your resolution (joking). Enjoy life as it comes, make the best decisions you can in the moment and stop pressuring yourself into things you’ll likely never do. Life is way too short for that.

Besides, you’ll likely have forgotten all about the resolution you made by the time March rolls around, so why not just forget it completely?

As for me, this is the first year that I’ve decided not to set any resolutions — life is too unpredictable. And the last thing I need is to stare at a post-it note telling me to go for a run each time I near the fridge.

May 2022 be a good one for you, dear reader. And if after reading this, you decide to set a resolution anyway, no judgement. Just make sure it's a good one, yeah?