New Years resolutions are stupid

New Years resolutions are stupid

I was going to write about my opinions supporting the aforesaid statement, but I stumbled over an article on Buzzle that took the words directly out of my mouth.

"Yep, it's that time of the year again.

The time when we all tell ourselves (and everyone within earshot) just how dramatically our life is about to change. Of course it is. Of course we do. Just like we did the last twenty New Year's eves. And didn't all those resolutions work out well for us? Many of us are champion resolution makers. Beyond that, not so good. The making, good. The doing, not so good. If you're like the vast majority, then right now you're about three days into your new life.
How's that workin' out?

Sure, we would have made those necessary changes earlier than now, but we all know that you can't do it in October or November, and don't even talk to me about December; that would be simply ridiculous. January is the official 'start-time' for change. Apparently. Yep, richer, thinner, happier, more relaxed, more balanced, healthier; different. It's all about to happen. For a week at least. This year, we may even stretch it to two.

Of course you don't need to be a research scientist to know that the vast majority of New Year's resolutions ultimately amount to nothing. Nothing positive anyway. But we continue with the stupid tradition nonetheless. Just watch your friends, family and colleagues over the next few days, weeks and months. Then again, probably just days and weeks. And take a peek at your past while you're at it. Unless you're the exception, there's been lots of talk, lots of great intentions and lots of amazing ideas over the years, but very little in the way of lasting change. If we're completely honest; probably a bunch of hot air and very little results. Moments of greatness but overall, kinda disappointing.

You know it, we all know it, we've all done it.
As a collective of people, we continue to do the same thing every year; make a bunch of promises to ourselves that we never keep. We get excited for about eight minutes and then we fall back into our old ways. It's what we do. It's not so much life-long change, as it is a momentary phase. Short term behavioural change.

Kind of like flatulence; comes and goes and makes us feel better for a moment.
And sometimes embarrassed. But I digress. Again. Even in 2008 I'm doing it.

Yet despite our abysmal track record and a vast wasteland of shattered dreams, we continue to approach every New Year the same way; with the same dumb, pointless strategy. They say that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome", so I guess on some level, a whole bunch of us are insane because that's exactly what we do. Like a broken record stuck in the same groove, repeating the same line over and over.

I apologize if I sound like the voice of gloom to this point in the lesson, but my intention is in fact to be the voice of reality, logic, honesty and life-long change; to tell you the no BS truth about this stuff. Twenty five years of watching and working with people in the area of 'change' has taught me that sometimes, what we need to hear, is not what we want to hear. And if we're really serious about the 'different forever' thing, then we need to learn that the New Year is not the right time for making resolutions. In fact, the right time has nothing to do with a date on a calendar and everything to do with us as individuals; our level of emotional, psychological and physical commitment to achieve our goals. Our readiness for the journey.

If we're genuinely prepared to do whatever it takes (that is, we are totally committed), then it's the right time. Whether it's January 1 or March 16 makes absolutely no difference. What determines success or failure is not what date we start something, but whether or not we have the mindset, the emotional toughness and the self-control to get the job done. Sadly, we live in a culture which teaches that new beginnings start on January 1. And we continue to perpetuate this stupid psychology despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Whatever you do, don't let logic or common sense get in the way."

Congratulations if you read through all of that, and most importantly have a happy new year.