This time of year, a slew of articles are out there about resolutions. How lots of people do them, why they’re bad, why they’re important, how to not screw them up. Personally, I’ve never liked resolutions. I don’t need any help putting undue pressure on myself to achieve more and then feeling shitty when I struggle with it, thank you very much. Still, I get the appeal. You want to do better and be better, right? The thing that’s worse than the resolutions is the attitude that there’s some kind of absolute truth about them, as demonstrated by those aforementioned articles.
Resolutions made at the start of a new year have a long and storied history. (Yeah, I just linked to Wikipedia, go look and see if you aren’t fascinated by the idea of Babylonians doing this shit, too.) This isn’t a Hallmark holiday, or manufactured as an advertising campaign—though I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a card for it and I’m not doing that search right now. The point is that the desire to be and do better is ingrained, a part of human nature. And there’s not a damn thing wrong with that. It’s great, right?
At least it’s great until it isn’t. If you pressure yourself too much (or better yet, pressure other people). If you don’t reach your objective and you beat yourself up about it. Or if you don’t meet your goals quickly and just give up. This is why the Peloton you got for Christmas ends up on eBay by April. Ha, just kidding! It ends up on eBay because you need the cash after the market crash and the next recession begins. (You thought I was going to make a divorce joke, instead I went all in with societal downfall, whee!)
But I digress. The point, once again, is the desire for improvement. If you move the needle a little, that’s progress. If you move it, then backslide, it’s okay to keep going and try again. You don’t have to go to the extent of dissolving into gelatinous goo like a caterpillar metamorphing into a butterfly, which is good news because being a goo-based life form holds zero appeal for me.
Whatever you end up doing with resolutions, be kind to yourself. A little progress is still progress. It’s okay if you have to start over. It’s okay to make adjustments to your goals, especially if you set your sights too high at the beginning. Remember, you’re just as good as any Babylonian. You got this.