The blank slate is a myth. We may have a new year, but it doesn’t magically herald in a new you. New Year’s resolutions (NYRs) are hooey in my book: invariably simplistic and too big; they are designed for people to fail, mostly by the end of February, leaving them feeling flat and hopeless.
Part of the problem is NYRs come on the back of the festive season, with its joyous, loose excesses and abandonment of routine. The NYR pledges are inevitably joyless – lots of tightening fiscal belts, eating less and other austerity measures. They are heavy on self-criticism and underpinned by the belief we are not living our lives properly.
NYRs embody the voice that tells us we should be achieving more and be gracious about doing that. We must be smarter, healthier, more productive and thinner. As an eternal optimist, I do not see this brutal excoriation as a great platform for a hopeful renewal. While honesty is important, we also need to be kind to ourselves, particularly when times have been tough and stresses have been high. And it need not be this way.
Psychologists will tell you that feeling grateful about the past for the lessons it delivered is important and helps craft a mental starting point for something new.
Looking ahead generates its own kind of energy. Anticipating feeling healthier, more financially comfortable or getting to that holiday you dream of creates wind beneath wings for lift-off. Eons ago, Socrates wrote: “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Wise chap.
Then, it is all about commitment when times get challenging and old ways whisper in your ear. Habits trump willpower every time. Relying on willpower for a whole year is exhausting and sets you up for certain failure, but bedding down a routine and a rhythm takes choice out of the equation: it is the same reasons lifestyle shifts – making change for good – work far better than short-term diets.
The New Year isn’t a magic wand. It’s a starting gun. And real change for good is a marathon, not a sprint. Digging in and staying the course has its own satisfaction. Imagine how enriched we could feel by the end of 2026. Happy New Year.
