Don’t Make a New Years Resolution

Gyms are full today.

Across America, people are watching “The Biggest Loser” while panting along on treadmills. I don’t know for sure, but I would guess that chocolate sales are down so far in 2013. People are probably reading more books and eating fewer McRibs.

January is a mystical month that has a strange power over us. Nearly everyone has some sort of goal for 2013, whether they decide to keep it to themselves or bravely publish it online for the world to see.

As I have been thinking about 2013, I had a couple of goals in mind. Not surprisingly (but sadly), most of them are basically the same things I wanted to accomplish in 2012. I like to run, and I thought it’d be cool to say that I ran 1000 miles in 2013. I wanted to make myself blog on a more regular basis. I thought about choosing specific numbers of traffic, friends, likes and followers to reach in order to boost my “personal brand.” I also wanted to figure out what a “personal brand” is.

But the more I thought about it the more I realized that for me, those goals won’t do much good. In fact, I don’t think they are healthy.

I’m not speaking for everyone, and I’m definitely not speaking for you. But for me, right now, goals like these have two possible results: either I can be depressed about my failure, or I can brag about my accomplishments.

I don’t really want either one of those things to happen.

And even more than that, I want to live.

I could run 1000 miles. I could Instagram everything and carefully craft creative tweets. I could check my analytics every day and obsess over successful people in an attempt to mimic their strategies.

But that’s not a life I want to live.

Believe me–this isn’t an excuse to be lazy. Laziness isn’t something I struggle with. If it is for you, then by all means make those goals and run after them.

I want to and expect to grow in 2013. I will read and I will run and I’ll probably blog. But I also need a healthy prospective. For me, I don’t want 2013 to be about numbers. I’d rather love people well and be fully present.

So, by the time 2014 rolls around, my biggest desire is that I would be content; content with myself, with my job, with my house, with my salary, with my body, with my marriage, and with my faith.

That’s way better than a high Klout score. Or a McRib.

What do you think? Do you have any resolutions? Are they healthy?