Don’t let me Down, Jan!

Ahhh…January! A month full of resolutions – to land a better job, to work on one’s relationship, to eat healthy & exercise, quit bad habits, to start or increase that retirement saving account – the list of resolutions can be endless. What fascinates me, however, is how quickly these resolutions are thrown out of the window even before the month is half way through. No wonder the well known gimmick of a yearly gym subscription is really a full January subscription! But why is January catching all this flak when it comes to resolutions?

I’m not saying that no one is capable of living up to the promises they make at the beginning of the year. I’m certain that many people are happy with the result of their resolutions but many more are frustrated with themselves and their resolutions. Personally, I’ve had years where my resolutions were spot-on, wishy- washy or downright disastrous. 

While I am all for taking responsibility for my own actions, I also feel that the media pressures us to have resolutions with a constant reminder that celebrities’ resolution for the New Year is this or that. Add friends and family that remind us that the” new year, new you” is around the corner, we are almost bullied into whipping out our note books to write our own resolutions. 

That is why I was pleasantly surprised that a friend of mine told me that her resolution for 2018 was NOT to make a resolution – AT ALL. Forget the whole thing! Well… that itself was a resolution, right? Philosophical debate aside, I can clearly see why this resolution can actually work.Think about it! If one doesn’t have a resolution for the year, there is no way to be disappointed and participate in the collective self-loathing we embark on by the end of the year – or worse mid Jan!

No resolution, however, does not mean – no goals, no plans for the year. It just means the year won’t be summed up in one catchy phrase that is not well thought-through, anyway.I think I’m going to shamelessly borrow my friend’s resolution and make it my own.

So, let’s see how a year of “No resolutions” looks like. Let’s say I have three areas identified as a priority for 2018 – Personal, Professional and Everything else – just to lump in things that don’t fit in the abovetwo categories but are still important to me – emphasis on the “ me” aspect . I can put specific goals against these broad categories and chip away on a daily basis with reviews in -built on a monthly or quarterly basis. Come December 2018, I’d have a bunch of goals achieved and still no need to label them “resolutions”. There you have it, no need to wallow in regret come next year for the resolutions I “failed at” or even worse the pressure to come up with a brand new set of resolutions at my next birthday- a topic for another blog entry.

I can hear a little voice screaming “This is no different from resolutions!”… my response ? so be it!!!

I still insist, I don’t have resolutions and I’m going to enjoy January like it’s 1^st January all the way to month end and beyond. Now… say it with me…”No resolution is GOOD Resolution”. Well, at least for me, it is. HA!