Why I Don't Make Resolutions
Today is the day of the year that we are supposed to make resolutions. It might surprise you to learn that I have never been one to make these kinds of commitments on January 1. Over the past few days I have been thinking a little bit as to why that might be, and while I am not sure that I have a complete answer, I think I have put together some of the reasons that resolutions have never appealed to me.
I think the first reason that I have never been one to promise I will get something done in a given year is because I have had very few predictable years. Some of you may have seen my post from a few days ago where I focused on all of the amazing things that have happened this year. They are all true, and I am grateful for those amazing opportunities.
I was talking to my mom about that list yesterday, and she reminded me that I have also had a rough year in terms of health. If you add up all of the time I have been ill this year, it probably comes out to about two months, with some relatively serious issues. Until I stopped to think about it, I didn’t realize it was that much time.
Things happen. Time slips away. You plan to do so many things, life happens, and before you know it, you have not hit that target that you planned on hitting. It is not for lack of motivation, desire, or grit; things just get in the way.
Setting a specific resolution adds unnecessary pressure to a project. If I say I am going to get it done, I will get it done, but if circumstances cause a delay, then it will get done later. Perhaps the reason I do not feel the need to set specific resolutions is because I do not tend to struggle with completing jobs in a timely fashion as a general rule. If circumstances are fine, then the job gets done. It is only when extenuating circumstances interfere that I typically require additional time to complete whatever I am working on.
Another reason I struggle with resolutions is because I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen to me most of the time. Opportunities come along that I want to be able to take advantage of. If I base my plan on the situation I find myself in right now, I might miss even more useful, profitable, or enjoyable things down the road.
I am a planner by nature. Most of the time, I know what projects I’m going to work on and how long I expect them to take me. It is not that I live my life without making commitments. However, I could say that I am going to post on this website every day. I will consider this year successful if I achieve that goal and have 365 new posts by December 31, 2021.
There’s nothing wrong with that goal. In fact, my writing would benefit from being so dedicated to the craft. However, I have no idea what doors are going to open between now and then. What if I found myself in a situation where I was able to write every day, but I was writing for someone else? I would find myself in a situation where I would have to sacrifice my resolution in order to take on another challenge that I may find more desirable.
At this point, you might say that I should just break my resolution, no big deal. I agree, but then what is the point of resolution? If a resolution is something that I commit to doing but then have an escape hatch in case I want to get out of it, I don’t really see the point of making it in the first place. At least for me, since I don’t need a resolution to motivate me to do something, I don’t really feel the need to create a resolution with an escape hatch either.
If you are the type of person that likes to make resolutions, I don’t want to rain on your parade. If it helps you be productive and achieve things during the year, then, by all means, keep doing what you are doing. They just don’t really seem to work for me, and I think, after little bit of reflection, these are the two main reasons why.