As the year draws to a close, the streets downtown glow with festive cheer. Markets brim with home-baked goodies and handcrafted gifts, Espresso House overflows with shoppers seeking a bit of warmth, and bikes have disappeared from the racks.
This is the season of celebration and renewal. A chance for us to look back on what we’ve accomplished and look forward to more of the same. Or even something better.
If you’re like me, you’ve made grand resolutions in the past. One year I was sure I’d wake up before dawn every morning to exercise, but it turns out I can’t drink enough coffee for that. Another would be the year I learned Swedish, but nothing I ever learn will be more important than “Utan lök, tack.” (If you don’t count my marriage proposal.)
Each promise is a grandiose mix of wishful thinking (or delusion) and ambition that usually falls victim to the reality of busy lives and shifting priorities.
In a world awash with social media highlights, where every other image might make us feel more inadequate, it’s easy to create resolutions that feel like ultimatums: grand plans that we’re sure will transform our lives overnight.
Everyone else seems to be doing everything right, and you’re over here just trying to figure out how to hang up your clean clothes on a regular basis, never mind following that YouTube tutorial on folding a fitted sheet.
But meaningful changes rarely happen all at once. It’s incremental, based on habits that are both attainable and sustainable. Progress isn’t linear and setbacks are part of the process.
New Year’s resolutions are nothing new. The turning of the year offers a natural time to reset. But let’s be honest. How many resolutions make it past January?
Before setting a lofty goal for the new year, take some time to reflect on this one. What’s one thing you’re proud of? Perhaps you learned a new skill, helped a co-worker with a project, rekindled an old friendship, finished a book, or simply survived a challenging time. Celebrate those achievements! What is the point in making new goals if you aren’t going to celebrate what you accomplish?
What do you want for this new year? Resolutions don’t have to be lofty. What did you enjoy doing this year? What do you want to continue? Maybe it’s simply a shift in mindset.
You could dedicate one night a week to reading, or to having a screen-free evening. You could try a new recipe once a month. Clean out a single closet. The key is to choose goals that inspire joy rather than dread.
If there’s something that needs to be done but doing it will be dreadful no matter how you approach it, try doing it just a little bit at a time.
There was this TV show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, that came out a few years ago about a woman saved from a doomsday cult learning how to live a normal life in New York City. She had a lesson for all of us: A person can stand to do just about anything for ten seconds.
As the future unfolds, remember that your resolutions don’t have to be monumental. Sometimes the best resolution is to embrace the simple art of doing nothing: and doing it well. After all, downtime is important.
If the future feels overwhelming, and taking it one day at a time seems too daunting, just think about the next ten seconds. Even ten seconds of progress is still progress.
This is a column and the views are the author's own.