Most of us make them… and then most of us break them. Each year I write a list of all the things I want to do to make myself better, thinner, cooler, richer… the list goes on. But every year on January 1st, I find myself copying that list over to the next year. Then, just yesterday morning, it hit me: making New Year's resolutions sucks. So this year I tore up my list, threw it away, and decided to make my goal one single word.
Now the word I chose isn’t important, it’s the actions that follow it that are; let me explain. So you choose a word, and then with each important action you make throughout the year you reflect on if that action embodies the spirit of that word. For example, if your word is adventure and you are deciding whether you are going to Netflix and chill or go to the Rockies with your best friends, you would ask yourself, “Which one best fits in the adventure category?” And then BAM, off the Rockies you go.
I like this approach to the resolution because you cannot fail. Just by picking the word alone you are willing yourself to embody it. If you really want to get into it, I recommend a daily or weekly journal in which you write out (yes, pen and paper) how you lived that word during that given time. I chose the daily one because obviously writing is one of my things. But who knows, you may surprise yourself with how quickly you begin to change with your one little word.
Now, to be fair, I have only been testing my theory for about a week now, but it is really off to a rad start. I have seen small, but still worthwhile changes in myself since picking my word. And really what hurt can this do??? So, here’s the challenge: pick a word and write it down, then live it. After all, there are only 51 weeks left until 2017. Ready. Set. RESOLUTE!
