Just Say No to Resolutions

Happy New Year!

Well, it's January 7th, so technically, I'm a little late. But it's the thought that counts. :) 

It is so interesting to see how, as soon as December 27th hits, so do the resolution commercials. Diet plans, gym memberships, exercise equipment. Even department stores have sales on workout clothes. It seems like everyone is looking over the past year and deciding how they can improve themselves over the next one. 

Usually, this is me. I grab me a spiral notebook (I LOVE spiral notebooks!) and a nice pen and I start listing. I can think of many, many things that I want to change or accomplish or begin, and I put them all down. 

And then? Nothing. I don't do them. I wish I could say that this only happened one or two years, but it doesn't. It happens every year. It never changed anything, though. Every year, around the 30th of December, I would still grab that spiral notebook and start listing my resolutions. 

But this year, for whatever reason, when the end of December creeped up, I had no desire to make a resolution. Not even one. I didn't want to make one about losing weight or eating better or exercising. Not one about reading one or two or ten books a month. Not one about organization or implementation or fascination. Nothing. 

And oddly enough? I feel great. Think about it: resolutions equal pressure. Suddenly, on January 1st, you have committed yourself to starting all of these new things all at the same time. Big life changes, done simultaneously, often do not often yield great results. I know I suddenly feel very overwhelmed, and if I miss a day or slip up in some way, I feel great disappointment. How can I possibly make real change if I have already messed up after a day or two? But this year, I have a few ideas for things I want to do floating around in my mind, and I'm happy with that. They are changes I can implement when the time is right and the opportunity presents itself. No pressure. 

So say no to resolutions this year. Change without pressure. 

Happy New Year!!