Some 2022 Resolutions You'll Actually Keep
Every year, I make a bunch of New Year’s resolutions, and every year I accomplish approximately zero of them.
Lose 30 pounds. Write a novel. Increase my income by 50 percent. Convince my wife to get a third cat. These all sound like really good ideas at 9 pm on December 31, but then life happens, priorities change, and my resolutions take a backseat to, I dunno, feeding my family and enjoying the occasional apple fritter.
But I am not alone in my resolution dissolution.
According to a 2016 study, only 9% of Americans feel they’re successful in keeping their resolutions by the end of the year.
End of the year? I’ve usually jumped ship by February 3rd.
Not because I’m lazy or a procrastinator, I think it’s that, like many of us, I’m a bit too ambitious with my aspirations. Not only do I bite off more than I can chew—I choke on my hubris.
In 2022, I want to do things differently. But what and how?
To help guide me (and hopefully you), I invited Amy Morin onto the Write About Now podcast. Amy gets things done. She’s written 4 bestselling books on the things mentally-strong people do and don’t do, and she’s editor in chief of VeryWellMind.com (the site formerly known as About.com). A few years back, she made a resolution to work from a houseboat in Florida.
Guess where she did our interview?
Amy had some great, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that-first strategies for making New Year’s resolutions you’ll keep. I’ll summarize a few here:
Set 30-day challenges not 365-day goals. Amy is a fan of giving yourself mini, 30-day challenges that are practical and achievable, rather than mammoth, year-long ordeals you’ll be too intimidated or busy to finish. Her most recent 30-day goal? To do a split. (Side note: This would take me 30 years.)
Take two minutes a day to be more grateful. When I first heard this, I rolled my eyes a little. Gratitude is one of those New Age buzzwords like “abundance” that makes me a little dry heave-y. But Amy says gratitude is one of “the most underrated superpowers there is.” The simple act of acknowledging what you’re grateful for each day can make you happier, healthier, and even sleep better.
Reach out to a friend every day. “In today’s world, I don’t think we value social connection with our friends nearly enough,” Amy says. I agree. I love my friends, but I’m not much of a keep-in-toucher. Amy says reaching out will make you feel good, make them feel good, and really beats doom scrolling through Instagram.
Set realistic timelines. If you’re aiming for something big, like writing a book or doing a Ted Talk, Amy recommends giving yourself a reasonable timeline. For example, if you think you can write a book in a year, figure out how many days a week you would have to write, and how many words you would have to write a day to get it done. “And figure out how you’re going to keep track of this,” Amy says. It might be a paper calendar on your fridge or one of those desk calendars from the 90s. Something about having a physical thing where you chart your progress helps keep you on track and feel like you’re achieving something.
This is just some of our conversation. To hear the whole thing, head over to WriteAboutNowMedia.com or subscribe wherever you find podcasts. And if you have a moment, please rate and review. I’d be, um, grateful.
Btw, one of my big resolutions this year? To be more regular with my emails. So you’ve been warned!
Happy reading and writing,
Jon