How to Make a New Year’s Resolution That Works

As I turn my calendar from December to January each year, I am always excited at the possibilities the New Year brings. Like many people, I like to take New Year’s as an opportunity to evaluate my life and find areas that I want to change. However, despite the numerous claims across America to be healthier, eat better, exercise more, or quit old habits, it seems to me that the majority of the time people don’t really change in the next year. Small tweaks to a lifestyle often leave a person with the same general outlook and disposition, and all it takes is one little distraction to fall back on the previous year’s ways. If I had to point to a single reason for why New Year’s resolutions don’t really change people, I would say that we’re shooting too low. Change is not easy, and we shouldn’t treat it as so. I propose that in order for a New Year’s resolution to really impact a person’s life, it must be difficult.

While it may not be the most comfortable thought in the world, I think most people would be willing to admit the truth that to honestly bring about change in your life you must overcome some difficulty. So how can we go about accomplishing a difficult New Year’s resolution? First, we must define what is “difficult.”

I have heard many lofty New Year’s resolutions such as “I want to lose ten pounds” or “I want to exercise more.” The problem with these kinds of statements is that they are too vague. “I want to lose ten pounds” does not establish any kind of timeline or method. I could probably lose ten pounds over the course of an entire year- that’s less than one pound a month! Of course, that kind of attitude lends itself to procrastination. If I don’t lose a pound this month, I could lose two next month! I could become seriously ill and lose ten pounds, but that’s not something to aspire to and I don’t think it is the intent of the resolution. “Exercise more” has similar problems. Would taking the stairs instead of the elevator be a sufficient increase in exercise, or should you bike to work and then take the stairs? It is almost impossible to track your progress when you are working toward a vaguely defined qualitative goal.