my resolution theory

This may not be revolutionary and it may very likely appear in one of the many self-help books published each year, but it hasn't been encouraged in my life to re-think New Year Resolutions, so to me, this is a grand new idea. 

Coming quickly to the age of 24, shouldn't I be able to keep a resolution by now? Shouldn't I be able to set a goal and meet it? Why yes, I should...at least that is what I tell myself. But the truth of the matter is, a New Year Resolution is often made to only be forgotten a few months into the year. And although it is for the hopeful who wish to reform and change their lives with the inspiration of a new journey, a life transformation can occur at anytime. And really, the new year often isn't inspiration past January. Not to say, people don't or can't keep a resolution, but the majority of the time our human nature squeezes into our lives and to-do lists and resolutions become burdens and the guilt pushes us to give up whether it be conscience or not. 

So I have a theory. A New Year Resolution is too overwhelming. A year encapsulates 12 months, 4 seasons and a whole lot of life. I have no idea what my circumstances will be in 11 months from now, let alone two weeks. Life moves fast and either our resolution can't keep up with us or we simply can't keep up with it. Or neither. You pick. 

Therefore, I have decided to not make year-long specific resolutions, not to say I don't think goals are important. Last year, I even tried to give myself a few general resolutions in hopes of grace that I'd be able to fulfill them (some I did, others not so much). This year, I have decided to live a healthy, balanced life in the month of January. 

You may be thinking a healthy, balanced life is extremely general. Well, it is, but I do have specific goals within them which I will outline. Here is my thought process, 30 days is much more manageable than 365. Once more, they say it takes approximately 21 days to create a habit. And resolutions usually are surrounded by living a healthier life, such as to work out more, quit smoking, follow a diet, etc. So I set a number of goals for myself which result in the ideal healthy, balanced life I wish I could follow throughout the year, but often lose amidst my busy life style. At the end of the month, I will reevaluate my resolutions, decide what is reasonable to continue on with and hopefully will come away with a few healthy habits, and a good sense of what I truly am capable of. Because in the end, it's more likely that breaking resolutions is not about how we simply can't keep a commitment or that we are not disciplined, it may be that we overwhelm ourselves with too many pressures to really commit to even one. 

In my next post, I'll outline my resolution breakdown.