Opinion: How to Keep That 2022 Resolution, and Why You May Want to Forget it Altogether
By Luke Thompson
I used to vehemently despise celery. I also hated aubergines and thought pepper was spicy. My diet consisted mostly of starches and carbohydrates and I disliked trying new foods that lay outside of my comfort zone. Thankfully, by high school, I finally recognized the shit quality in my taste buds and decided to make a New Year’s resolution: I would try to eat new foods and build up a spice tolerance. Six years later, I enjoy a cheeky bite of celery with peanut butter, consider roasted aubergines delicious, and select the medium spice option when ordering Pad Thai.
This New Year’s resolution may have been a success for me, but it’s the only one I’ve ever made that I’ve truly stuck to. Why are New Year’s resolutions so goddamn difficult? And why do we keep making them?
Many people consider the date of January 1st to be the perfect time to create goals and make fresh starts. But whether it’s finally hitting UniPol for that dream bod you’ve always wanted, or committing to get on the piss less often, many resolutions never see the light of February. In fact, 23% of resolutions are quit by week one, and only 19% of people keep to their goals in the long term, according to the University of Scranton.
The fact is, changing yourself is only going to happen if you want it to. If you made 2022 resolutions just because your friends were, chances are you’ll be part of the 81% of people whose resolution doesn’t stick. Creating a new habit or kicking an old one can be a challenging task, and once the year gets going and stresses start piling up, it’s often easiest to drop resolutions to prioritize other things.
It’s also true that mistakes are inevitable when pursuing a goal. There will be a day when you forget to keep that Duolingo streak or just can’t make it out of bed for an early morning run, and that’s OK. The hard part is to continue with the resolution instead of giving up and waiting to try again until next year. This will be much easier if you possess a reason to achieve your goals for yourself — not anyone else. Ask yourself, do you want to hit the gym because it would make you feel confident and healthy, or because you want to make your ex jealous and become the hot friend? The victory will be much much sweeter if it’s for you and no one else.
The reason I can say I’m not a picky eater today is that six years ago I wanted to have a healthier relationship with food for me. Yes, there were days when the hot sauce was too intimidating, and it took me a good five years before I could munch on a stick of plain celery, but I kept trying even when the going got rough. It’s also important to be gracious with yourself, and appreciate your progress even when it’s small. Celery in soup is better than no celery at all.
As the author James Clear puts it in his book Atomic Habits, “the ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this. It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this.”
Another thing that may be preventing you from making your resolutions last is going a little too “full send” and not enough “how is this actually going to work?” Believing in yourself is obviously of the utmost importance — we’ve all been lectured about growth mindsets. But realism is also a necessary evil. Implementing a new habit in your life often will require sacrifices as your time becomes stretched thinner. And without proper preparation, you’ll be left questioning why you ever thought you would have the time to start reading books again or call your grandparents once a week.
If the concept of New Year’s resolutions helps provide you the structure to make the change in your life you’ve been wanting, then by all means utilize it. But for many, resolutions may be more effective on your timeline, not the Gregorian calendars. There’s an immense amount of social pressure placed on us each New Year to improve ourselves, but goals surrounding personal growth should be made because you want to make them — not because society tells you you should.
Another personal goal I’ve had for ages is to set up a daily meditation practice. There are periods in my life when I meditate for a month and others when I don’t meditate at all. But I didn’t wait for this New Year to try and make it a consistent habit, I started trying in November of last year. So sure, go ahead and make that New Year’s resolution, but also know you can make or break new habits in your life whenever the fuck you want. Just make sure you have the proper motivation and tools to do it.
