No new year’s resolutions this year
This is not a manifesto against having new year’s resolutions. Certain goals progress slowly enough that the gradual incrementation of that number on the calendar may well be the best pace of assessing progress, or the lack thereof. One may argue against waiting for the new year to implement necessary changes, while on the other hand, the social implications of committing to goals as others do likewise and holding one another accountable may justify delay. The statistics on failure rates among new year’s resolutioners may encourage individual action as opposed to joining the crowd. This can go back and forth in endless debate, but I’ll choose action over analysis, and if a new year’s resolution spurs one to action, then I’m all for it.
I am not setting any for 2026. My reasoning is that I feel they emphasize quantity over quality. Another framework for viewing this distinction is in comparing lateral change to vertical change. A vertical change is climbing the ladder: getting bigger (or smaller), stronger, faster, wealthier, etc. There is cost to pay for every rung, and diminishing rewards as you go. Lateral change, on the other hand, is about exploration rather than exploitation. A typical new year’s resolution might be to read a certain number of books. A lateral approach would ignore the number of books, but might involve reading different books than one normally would, a change of quality that can’t be expressed in quantity.
Anyone else rejecting new year’s resolutions this year? There is still time to cancel them now before the new year begins!