A guide to a better New Year’s resolution

In the excitement of a new year comes a recycled desire to make changes. Resolutions to exercise more, spend less time on your phone, to stop texting that toxic guy float through your head. It seems these hopes and dreams usually come crashing down by Jan. 31.  

Why keep setting these goals, making these resolutions? What is it about a new year that encourages us to make changes? 

People seem to really enjoy a new beginning, a fresh start. We see it online each month as people speak into the universe requesting that the next month be better than the last. Sunday resets help us start fresh on Monday.  

It is only natural that we would want a fresh start on Jan. 1.  

There are a million self-help books that teach us how to change our lives. But maybe the change we need this year isn’t a drastic one. People often focus on bold declarations to be better, to uproot their bad habits and become the best version of themselves. 

I think the best version of us is the version that tries a little more every day. To exercise more, you don’t have to wake up at 4 a.m. and run five miles, sure you could do that, but you could also go on a short walk or take the stairs rather than the elevator. To reduce your screen time, start small. Replace doomscrolling with a hobby that brings you joy. Create small, realistic changes that ground you and bring you joy. 

We are wired to love a fresh start and a blank slate so take advantage of that excitement but when it wears off remind yourself that small changes toward good are better than nothing at all.  

“It is easy to get bogged down trying to find the optimal plan for change: the fastest way to lose weight, the best program to build muscle, the perfect idea for a side hustle. We are so focused on figuring out the best approach that we never get around to taking action. As Voltaire once wrote, ‘The best is the enemy of the good.’” 

James Clear, Atomic Habits