I've never understood New Year's Resolutions. I have yet to meet a single person that has made a New Year's resolution and stuck with it, so it is little surprise to me to hear that the success rate for resolutions is only in the 10-12% range. It's still higher than I expected. I imagine that statistic does not have a margin of error that factors in the percentage of survey respondents that are liars.
You hear the same resolutions every year and in many cases you hear the same ones from the same people year in and year out. But they really mean it this time. "It's 1999, I'm closing out this century debt free!", "2000 is a new millennium and the first step to a million dollars! As soon as I pay off these credit cards.", "2010 is the decade to finally focus on financial freedom! I'll spend less and save more!" It's like that Mac commercial poking fun at Windows 7... It won't be like last time. 'Trust me.'
But as 2010 approaches, once again people are resolving to lose weight, quit smoking, get in shape, pay off debt, save money, give to charity, go on a vacation, listen more, start a new career, volunteer, eat their vegetables, watch less TV, read more books, control their anger... etc etc.
Unfortunately the reality tends to be losing weight by smoking or gaining weight from quitting, joining a gym at the 'New Year's special rate', going in to more debt to pay for vacation, saving money by only shopping at wholesale stores (2 gallons of peanut butter is an investment in peanutty goodness the whole year through), giving an extra dollar to Jerry's kids at the checkout, listening during commercials, adding monster.com to your bookmarks, making excuses to skip the gym, thinking about volunteering but never making the time, adding lettuce to your whopper, cutting your regular shows by 2 (but adding 5 more to the DVR), placing more books on your night stand while racking up the late fees at the library then getting your library card revoked for verbally abusing the librarian when she refuses to let you borrow 'The Total Money Makeover' because you still owe $50 on 'Personal Finance for Dummies' which you've had checked out since last January. But hey, at least you went on vacation.
The absurdity of a resolution on January 1st isn't so much about the failure rate really. We could get into a whole discussion about goal setting and creating a plan for success, two things I am only qualified to discuss in a 'don't try this at home' kind of way, but I'll leave that to the experts. I am simply annoyed by the notion that anyone would let the calendar dictate when they make a change. If you want to give the calendar that much power then screw it. The Mayan calendar apparently says that in 2012 the world is going to end anyway. So max out your Visa and order a double whopper, however... please keep your smoking to the designated smoking areas only and dispose of your cigarette butts in the receptacle provided.
People are often caught up looking for 'perfection'. The perfect moment to start something new, the perfect moment to ask someone out, the perfect job or the perfect mate. Meanwhile, life passes them by. Reality is not ideal, so no one's expectations should be. When is the last time you orchestrated a trip to the grocery store to perfection? (For the record I never have) You ever have to back track to an aisle for something you forgot? The deli line too long? The register break down? Are they out of seedless grapes? You forget to put something on the list? You forget the list? So what makes you think the perfect date on the calendar will make your goals any more attainable?
I understand the notion that a new year signifies a starting over, a new beginning. But for that matter, so does the 1st of any month. Why not resolve to change on March 1st? Or hey, how about a Sunday? It's a new week right? Oh, I know, we have several weeks a month and 52 on the year, they aren't special enough and who counts weeks anyway? Heck, you don't turn a page on the calendar to see what those silly kittens are up to each week. You have to wait until the month is over to see a new snapshot of those adorable little fur balls so no, a week isn't significant enough.
If it's a unique and symbolic date you require to begin your metamorphosis then why not make it today? There's no day that is more unique than the one you are in right now and frankly, today is the only day that exists. It's the only day you have a chance to control. You can conjure up images of the perfect day and visualize everything you are going to do when it gets here but with all due respect to Mr. Rogers, no one's life ever changed in the Land of Make-Believe.
If you're serious, then toss out your smokes. Cut coupons. Kill two birds with one stone and cut your cable TV service. Put down the fat-free Oreos. Get off the couch. Sweat. (If simply getting off the couch makes you sweat, then seek help)
If you are still hung up on the whole calendar thing, open it up right now and check for today's date. Now count how many times it appears from January 1st until now. Is that significant enough for you?
(If you found today's date more than once then it's time to replace your defective calendar. While you're at it, you may want to stop at the library and apologize too. She was only doing her job.)
[UPDATE] Lurg has made an appearance and has helped me realize I totally missed the bigger point I was trying to convey. Resolutions are inherently great, ONLY if you mean them. There needs to be sincerity and you need to be accountable. Don't make a resolution because it's the thing to do or if you're in a fleeting moment of motivation. Don't 'intend' to do it, plan to do it and act.
Take the small changes as wins, not as partial failures. You wanted to lose 50lbs, but only dropped 20? Great! You dropped 20! Now keep it up, but reflect on what you've done and how you can improve. Learn from the success and move forward. Getting side-tracked does not equal failure, quitting when it gets tough or never really trying is. I know, I've been there.
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