2023 is quickly winding down. What kind of year has it been for you? Are you excited for 2024?
With the end of a new year comes the pressure to make changes. January 1st is a threshold in time, clearly dividing what is behind us from what is in front of us. Thus, it represents an opportunity to do things differently. As we ease through this week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, many of us have been asked the question, “Have you made any New Year’s resolutions?” So, have you?
If you have, I’m sorry to tell you that your chances of achieving and maintaining them are slim to nil. Statistics show that 80% of us will have abandoned our New Year resolutions by mid-February. Consider this: 20% of all new gym memberships are taken out in January; by mid-February, four out of five have been abandoned.
Why is it so difficult to maintain change in our lives? We make resolutions with the best intentions, but we seem to abandon them when our motivation dwindles, and we return to the same old patterns. It’s as if resolutions set us up to fail. They tease us with visions of better health, better physiques, better finances, etc., only to laugh behind our backs when we find ourselves back at the McDonald’s drive-thru.
Could there be a better way of approaching change in the new year? According to some, success in achieving our goals might be as easy as switching our focus from resolutions to intentions. Resolutions are goal-oriented, which means they are achieved in the future. Resolving to lose 10 pounds, for example, is a resolution. We will achieve it in the future, or we won’t. There is no grey area. And if we fail in achieving our resolution (and likely we will), we risk thinking of ourselves as failures. That’s not productive or healthy! Intentions, on the other hand, are process oriented. When something is process-oriented, the achievement is incremental and thus can be easier to achieve.
Let me give you an example. An intention might be something like, “In 2024, I’m going to be good to my body”. That isn’t a hard and fast goal, as it is an invitation to think of healthier ways. Being good to your body may result in losing 10 pounds, but it also invites a more sustainable response. For example, it might include eating healthier food. Or getting more sleep. Or taking a “technology detox” where you vow to spend periods of time away from social media to give your nervous system a break. Intentions don’t require you to beat yourself up to achieve a goal, but they welcome ways that you can gently tweak your lifestyle and increase the likelihood of more permanent change. Intentions welcome creative thinking and thoughtful and productive ways of introducing new things into your life.
Here are a handful of resolutions vs intentions to consider for 2024
- Resolution: Save more money.
Intention: Strive to live within my means on a daily basis.
- Resolution: Be a better parent/partner.
Intention: Set aside some time daily to check in with my family and see how they are doing.
- Resolution: Lose 20 pounds
Intention: Be good to my body.
- Resolution: Give up a bad habit
Intention: Develop new routines or activities that make me feel good about myself.
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to making life changes. Some need the hard and fast goal of a resolution. But others need an approach where the goal is the process itself.
Change is difficult but not impossible. In my journey of change, I find tremendous hope in the biblical words of Deuteronomy, “be strong and courageous, do not fear change, for it is God who goes with you.”
Happy New Year! And best wishes for 2024!
