Adaptable New Year’s Resolutions

It’s January 23rd and I may have finalized my New Year’s resolutions. Maybe.

No, I’m not a slacker. True, I didn’t start thinking about my New Year’s goals until January 1st, when I jotted some thoughts down in a notebook. But those thoughts were were not etched in stone–on the contrary, they were illegibly penned onto partially recycled paper that will some day soon be recycled again.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve waited until the end of January to finalize my resolutions. I did it in both 2012 and 2013. And I rather like it.

January becomes my testing ground to try out my New Year’s goals. I experiment, and then ask, is this exercise goal realistic? Does implementing this writing goal make me happier? Does finishing a quilt help me achieve my big-picture goals?

I want to push myself with my goals, but I don’t want to be self-defeating. And so I experiment with my goals, toss some out, and choose a few more.

I won’t reach all of my 2014 goals. And I embrace that. I would like to finish the quilt that I said I would finish in 2013. But if it ends up on my 2015 goals list, so be it.

To encourage myself to iron the quilt blocks, sew them together, and then finish the quilt, I’ve set the goal of finishing it in time to submit to the Arizona State Fair. Accountability and a deadline always help…

January may be my testing ground, but I like to make my resolutions adaptable enough that I can come back to them throughout the year, tweak them, modify them, make them better for me and where I’m at in life. Right now it’s realistic for me to take a long walk outside every day with my children–but in July, when it’s 110 degrees, I probably won’t be doing that, so I’ll revise my goal to keep myself active without dying of heat exhaustion.

Ultimately, my goals and resolutions exist to serve me, to make happier, healthier, more fulfilled, and moving towards becoming the person I’d really liked to be. For me, it’s impossible to truly fail at a New Year’s goal or resolution, as long as I’m able to learn from setbacks and willing to adapt for the future.