“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist, abolitionist, philosopher, and poet
Once again, we’ve rung in a new year, and according to a YouGov poll, nearly one-third of Americans will make a New Year’s resolution or set a goal for 2025. Interestingly, though, the older we get, the less likely we are to do so. The poll found that almost six in 10 adults (58%) younger than 30 were making resolutions, but only 14% of those 65 and older were doing so.
Maybe we ditch resolutions based on experience. After all, research finds less than one in 10 Americans who make a resolution actually keep it. After just one week, nearly a quarter (23%) have already given up. Maybe the 14% of older folks who still make resolutions are the ones who keep them every year, along with a sprinkling of eternal optimists?
Whether you’re setting resolutions for the year or not, let me take this moment to encourage you not to think of your goal in absolute terms. It’s actually not easy—not easy at all—to make changes, especially to well-established habits, and a few things can make it even harder, including expecting perfection, as well as setting goals that are simply unrealistic.
Some of that unreality comes from goals that do not come from within our own selves, but rather from cultural expectations about how we ought to look, how we ought to live, and what we ought to accomplish in life.
I say, forget that. You do you. Discard all the baggage of cultural expectations and choose a goal that makes you feel excited and energized. Then think of the smallest step you can take, and commit to doing that.
Learn to play the ukelele. Plan to spend 20 minutes a day cuddling with your dog (or cat). Choose one new hiking trail to traverse every month. Hire a pro to help improve your tennis or golf game. Read a page of poetry a day. Or resolve to never make a resolution again. Whatever! If it gives you a lift, it’s a worthy goal, and you might be more likely to accomplish it.
Small goals are achievable, and set you up for future success, as the little promises you keep to yourself today give you the confidence to make bigger promises to yourself tomorrow.
Happy 2025!
Emily Tipping
Editorial Director,
Recreation Management
[email protected]
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