Giving up Resolutions

New Years Resolutions: yearly traditions made by those all around the world. We spend time making a list of all the things that we know we won't do: go to the gym, eat healthy, wake up earlier, spend more time with family, call mom more, adopt don't shop (you know who you are)...

I've been doing this for as long as I remember, but the motivation for these things usually fizzle out within a couple of weeks. Two years ago, I resolved to learn a new task or skill every week for the 51 weeks of the year. I think I made about 3 weeks in and then promptly forgot about it as Life was taking its toll.

This year, my resolution is to not make any resolution. Why?

Resolution: the action of solving a problem.

I do not need a resolution because I do not need to be resolved. I am not a problem to be solved and I am not broken, despite what some may think. I know that New Years resolutions exist for a reason; it's easy to "start fresh" with the "new year, new me" mentality. It's with that same logic that people start diets, habits, and challenges on Mondays or the first of the month. We say it's "easier to track".

I am not obligated to be the same person that I was 5 minutes and I do not need to make resolutions because I am not a problem that needs to be solved. Instead of focusing on resolutions that need to be complete by a "goal date", I am going to focus on the Now. Take each decision and challenge as it comes and learn to be ok with the fact that everything is a process, learning curve and all.

This year, I am vowing not to make New Years resolutions because I don't need there to be a new me. I am learning to accept that it's ok to be the same me and IF I CHOOSE to make any changes, it is because that is my choice and not because I am an ongoing list of problems that need to be solved.