Seriously. Stop. It. This is what I told myself one year ago, as I pondered my annual tradition of resolving to change some behavior or other.
It began to occur to me that the process of identifying the arbitrary start of our solar calendar as a meaningful point to begin or end certain behaviors can be unhelpful and counter-productive.
Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE picking dates to start or stop behaviors. Normally it means a date at some future point (not today), which is even better still.
“My diet is going to be ferocious on the 1st. I may as well have another piece of pie now.”
The reality is that most New Years Resolutions fail at some point in January when we realize how entrenched we were in the previous behaviors, and how much external factors can influence our behaviors despite our best intentions.
In 2015, I started paying more attention to my patterns. What I needed was not a starting gun to get me fired off into the race. I needed core changes. This is a work in progress, but it’s one that I’m trying to remain keenly aware of throughout the days and months of each year, now and forever.
If I get to the end of 2016 and it occurs to me to draw a line in the sand 1/1/2017 to change something about myself or my company, I will have failed at my day to day struggle to remain mindful of my patterns.
No.
January 1st is a red herring, and I’m going to ignore it from now on. I resolve to chip away at my bad behaviors and work to bolster my better behaviors regardless of time and place.
No More New Years Resolutions!
May your 2016 be prosperous, my friends!
Bill lives and plays in Fort Collins, Colorado. After a fulfilling career for a Fortune 50 company, Bill founded Colorado Web Design in 2012 with a passion for creative digital solutions for business. Bill likes to manage a wide variety of projects and tasks for his clients in the digital space. The creative elements of website design, application design, and marketing are enough to keep anyone busy and engaged, but wiping the slate clean over and over at the start of new projects comes with its own challenges. "I like to start with really good client communication sessions. The rest is easy if you get started in the right way." He plays tennis, bikes, and hikes and then undoes all of that with too much delicious food and TV watching.
About Colorado Web Design
We've been building websites for Colorado businesses since 2002. We are a small team of dedicated individuals who love the challenge of each new marketing project. We live and play in northern Colorado.
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