In Defense of the New Year’s Resolution
Broaching the question of what you want makes your answers more likely to happen.
Setting New Year’s resolutions gets a bad rap sometimes—not around here! The new year is my favorite holiday. I love a built-in opportunity to think about what I want to do going forward, and to think about how I might make my life and self better. So please, allow me to go to bat for the now oft-scorned New Year’s Resolution.
If I haven’t been explicit enough about it lately, I am, without shame, a self-improvement enthusiast. Self-improvement is the name of my game, as trite as it may sound to some ears. I value growth and change and am constantly—occasionally to my detriment—striving to be and do better.
New Year’s is, naturally, a great time to think about how you want things to improve. Sure, I understand the critiques of the holiday—I, too, think that the emphasis on “detoxification” (a wonderful and automatic function of your liver) via various “cleanses” come January is overdone. Also, businesses use this time as an opportunity to push excess or unnecessary products, which can feel a little grimy. The only real problem I have with the hype around New Year’s is that it tricks too many people into spending too much money on programs or products that promise to “fix” whatever ails them. Influencers can get a little snake oily around this time of year. There’s a deeper call to be discerning as to whom you give your money to.
I think still other people dislike the New Year because they equate it with what they see as the “evils” of modern Western society—you know, the cultural pressure to achieve, do more, be productive, and focus on yourself. To that, I say: everything in moderation, including moderation. It’s ok to focus on yourself. It’s ok to want to achieve more or improve something about yourself. Productivity is not at odds with rest; the two, in fact, depend upon each other.
Setting goals or resolutions does not need to mean that you are now going to add 35 steps to your morning routine or that you should start running marathons. It’s ok if your goals are not “productive”—they may instead revolve around spending more time with your family, or taking time off. The point of a goal or resolution is that it is what you need to bring yourself into a state of equilibrium, satisfaction, and fulfillment. It’s unique to you.
The new year is a beautiful opportunity to believe in your ability to achieve the things you say you want. Broaching the question of what you want makes your answers more likely to happen. What we focus on is often what grows.
So why not give it a go?
Let’s get to it.
There are many different opinions with varying scientific evidence on how to set effective goals. There is the SMART goal framework, for example, which says that a goal must be: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. From what I have read in books like Atomic Habits and Designing Your Life, as well as my own experience, effective goal-setting generally boils down to something like this:
If you want to improve your life intentionally by setting and reaching goals, those goals should be specific and relevant to your life. You should write them down and periodically revisit them. And, your goals should be achievable while still challenging.
In other words: you’ve got to know what you’re trying to do, believe you can do it, and be able to measure that you’re doing it.
With all of these components in action, you’ll be well on your way to making the changes you say you want.
My 2025 Resolutions
I’ve been contemplating what I want to focus on in the new year, and have come up with some resolutions. These areas are where I’ve decided it would benefit me to give more of my attention to.
Spend more time walking outside, alone—I’ll start with one hour, twice a week, to make it easily doable and thus more likely I will continue. I feel better about everything when I take more walks.
Write pen to paper—I’ll start with 5 minutes minimum a day to start building the habit. I’ve admittedly fallen off of writing in a notebook and rely mostly on typing. I feel more connected to the truth of what I’m writing when I use a pen and paper.
Finance the rest of my time in grad school without anxiety—I know, seems like perhaps a tall order. This resolution requires that I notice when I’m stressed out about money, pause, and remind myself of why I’m in school and that I will always figure it out. Also, apply to grants and write more essays for scholarships.
Stop wasting money on useless supplements. This involves me checking my impulse to buy supplements or $110 greens powders that I heard about on a podcast because I think I need them to be healthy. Instead, I can pause and remind myself that I probably don’t need said supplement and that the person trying to sell it to me probably doesn’t have a medical degree nor do they know anything about me.
Rest my mind as well as my body. This is really more of a lifestyle shift I want to make. Amidst the inevitable busyness of the next 12 months, I plan to allow myself more pockets of mental rest. Not just physically resting, but mentally, too: I want to let my mind take regular breaks from planning, scheming, and figuring things out. More mental stillness when my mind gets racy. More time spent observing.
Celebrate uncertainty. Rejoice in it, even. I cannot be certain of anything, really, except that one day my life will end. There is so much I cannot control, so much I do not know. That deserves to incite awe within me, instead of fear. Implementing this goal will look simply like reminding myself to relax away from the fear of uncertainty when it arises.
On that note—I’m not perfect. These goals are things I aspire toward incorporating more of into my life. I don’t expect to do them all perfectly, but I do expect myself to keep them in mind and devote more attention to. They may certainly change—and that’s ok. Goals should change as we do, too.
I hope you’re at least a little excited about the year ahead—a year that remains uncertain and full of potential. We really are not in control of much, but still, we do have some influence over what happens. The least we can do is pay attention to our attitudes, our perspectives, and set some positive goals for ourselves. Becoming our version of ‘better’ means that we will positively influence those around us, too.
So go set some resolutions—write them down. Challenge yourself. Tell someone about them. Get excited and motivated. Put what you want to see in the future in motion, now.
Happy New Year!
Maggie
Hooray for your column. I love to assess my past year and think about what I wanna do going forward. some of the things you mentioned are things I’m going to start with thanks for the column mags.