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Perhaps We Should Make Winter Resolutions Instead of New Year’s Resolutions
“New year” means “new soul.”
That’s what British writer G.K. Chesterton once observed.
Many of us, though, already feel like we’ve soiled our souls with botched New Year’s resolutions.
And the rest of us will feel pretty soiled soon if statistics are any indication. The average New Year’s resolution lasts only 3.74 months, according to a recent poll by Forbes Health/OnePoll.
Only 6 percent of us will make it through the entire year.
The Problem Isn’t Us: It’s Our Resolutions
If Chesterton was right, perhaps we need to make New Year’s resolutions that improve our souls instead of resolutions that improve our thighs, finances, and cardio.
It’s winter.
Stillness. Quiet. Rest. Those are winter words.
Our New Year’s resolutions tend to be filled with words like “vigor,” “energy,” and “activity.”
It’s no wonder we fail, says health writer Emma Suttie. “Winter,” she says, “is a time to rest and recharge — a natural ending of the seasonal life cycle — a time to reflect on ourselves and the year that has passed.”
