Making Resolutions Requires Making Time for Reflection

This is the time of year for making resolutions; those ardent vows to ourselves about all the things we will or won’t do come the magical day of January 1. We know we’ll be asked, so we must have a response at the ready even if we haven’t given them much thought.

There is an undue pressure to set goals and objectives that start at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day.  “I’m going to walk 2 miles a day.” “I’m going to visit my parents more often.” “I am going to stop eating sugar, starting New Year’s Day.” Often in the bluster of making those resolutions by a pre-set deadline, we don’t spend enough time on reflection, one of the best tools to forming resolutions that will truly have an impact on your life moving forward.

Whether or not you  have your resolution list for 2025, I’d like to recommend that you set aside some time to reflect on the past year. What was fun? What was not? What brought you joy? Who brought you joy?  There will be things and events of which you had no control – sadness, loss, tragedy or on the other side – joyful events, new people in your life, exciting changes in circumstances. Although you may not have caused these events, you can reflect on how you reacted to them. What are the lessons you learned and how might that knowledge help in the future?

So go ahead – set those resolutions. They can be fun, encouraging and inspiring. To make them last, do your homework, put in the time to reflect as you formulate a plan. Set your own deadline, one that fits your life. Doing the work now, may make 2025 the kind of year that is a pleasure to reflect upon when making your New Year’s resolutions for 2026.