A Letter To Resolution Quitters

Dear Resolution Quitters, 

First of all, congratulations. You tried! This month you had an idea of the person you wanted to be, and you gave it a shot. Well done! 

Secondly, there are no rules; there is no CEO of Resolutions that is overseeing this years’ goals; no manager that has fired you for not making it to the end. Meaning, you do not have to wait until next year to try again. This is your life and you make the rules, so don’t give up! 

Did your stressful week turn your January from dry to damp? That’s okay. Put down the bottle and try again. Made it 12 days into the month? Awesome! Celebrate how many days you made it and see if you can break your record. Next time go for 13!

Did week two at the gym not happen? No sweat (pun intended). Week 3 is a whole new chance to get it right. 

Is the month half over and you still haven’t started what you set out to do? Like that professional development article you said you’d write? (Yeah, that one’s me) Make a plan for when you will start. Studies show that people who make a plan for where and when they will do something are far more likely to actually do it - even when the plan doesn’t work out exactly as they thought. 

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, is able to stick with his goals because he knows that “every habit streak ends…No matter how consistent you are with your habits it’s inevitable that life will interrupt you at some point. Perfection is not possible… [but] as soon as one streak ends, I get started on the next one.”

Your life is going to be what you make of it. Don’t let a stupid tradition of made up resolution rules make you think you can’t keep going. So you’re a quitter? Who cares! Try again. You’ve got this. 

Sincerely Yours, 

A fellow quitter / try-again-er