Wanderings – No resolutions required
It’s the new year. It’s time to start afresh. Resolutions to change the things we don’t like about ourselves, or to do new things. Maybe you want to lose a few pounds – who doesn’t? Perhaps you want to be more organized – again, who doesn’t?
Like many people, I have spiraled on the idea that a new year is going to be a new me. We have the technology. We can rebuild him. Better than he was before. Better… stronger… faster… wait: that was a different thing.
There is a lot of pressure put on people to make a change with the new year. It’s unnecessary pressure, but it exists. Diet changes, Dry January, gamble less, walk more, eat better, be more on time – all things to make the better, newer you. If you don’t do something, there is a feeling like you are missing out. Some people feel bad for not doing something different too. Why can’t I change when I see Bert changing? Hell, if so-and-so can do this, sure as heck I can.
Years ago, I would go through this same cycle at the start of the year. Try to change something, cold turkey, then a few weeks or even days get frustrated and quit. For weeks after, I’d feel bad about quitting – down at first, then angry at myself for quitting. Eventually, those feelings would subside – but I always wonder why I would put myself through it each year. So I stopped.
I only make one resolution each year, to not make resolutions at New Year’s. That doesn’t mean I haven’t made changes – it just means that I am not putting a societal-based timeline or schedule attached to those changes. Nor am I putting the pressure of comparing my changes to others and feeling like I am doing better or worse than those who I am comparing myself to. As Theodore Roosevelt wrote, “Comparison is the theft of joy.”
So what recent changes have I made? I don’t remember exactly when I did this – sometime in the summer. I started walking more. I walked a fair amount during soccer seasons, but there were low points between the seasons that I didn’t walk as much as I should. Going out on nightly walks with my spouse has been great. We’ve been able to connect more. I have also complained more about the heat and humidity in the summer, the bugs, the state of municipal infrastructure in the part of town I live in, and now that it’s winter – the cold.
Getting a dog added a need to walk daily, although with the cold finally arriving, I have done less of this. Cold and rain do not make me want to go out.
For years, I have been changing the household diet. Not just mine, but for everyone that lives in Casa del Blancher. I love to cook and learn new things. That has meant, over several years, less processed food, more real meals. Great for supper when we’re home, but I also have been known to veer into a drive-through when we’re out.
Home cooking has meant more vegetables, usually cooked or blended into food. It also has meant more pizza as I have nearly mastered the perfect dough. I recently made my first pasta, and I expect another journey down that rabbit hole is about to begin.
None of these changes are resolutions, there is no timeline, and I don’t beat myself up for missing a self-imposed deadline or schedule because I haven’t set any of those.
So just enjoy the new year, set or don’t set any goals, and keep going. No pressure. No resolutions required.
This column was originally published in the Wednesday, January 8, 2025 print edition of The Leader.