002 | NEW YEAR’S ‘INTENTIONS’
LET’S STOP CALLING THEM ‘RESOLUTIONS’.
But if we did, what are yours for 2021? My guess is that, whatever they may be, you made them with the motive to improve a certain aspect of your life. You’ve identified a problem, with the purpose of uncovering a solution. Let’s have a quick look at the official Dictionary.com definition of the word.
resolution [rez-uh-loo-shuhn] n. the act of resolving or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc.
Okay, so it makes sense. If you think of your own New Year’s ‘Resolutions’ for 2021, every one of them would probably fall into that meaning of the word. But my interpretation of the word implies that something has been resolved, that our course of action is already complete. Basically, that we have already found the solution to our problem.
The job is not done when we set forth our new plan, there is time required to actually execute it. Until we have taken those steps consistently for a certain duration, there is no way to tell if it’s even the correct course of action. This insight only comes through experience — and you’ll want to know if you’re on the wrong path sooner, rather than later. But even if you are on the right path, you won’t make much headway without a commitment to that roadmap.
It can be considered a ‘resolution’ when the change has been made, once it has become part of an effortless process. Until then, it is only an ‘intention’. Without the ‘intention’, there can be no ‘resolution’. Let’s refer back to Dictionary.com again.
intention [in-ten-shuhn] n. an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.
When you look at it in this sense, I think it makes the expectations more clear — this is the change I want to make, this is how I’m going to do it, and I will not deviate from this plan for any reason. We tend to forget about that last part. It’s easy to say you’re going to do something, but it’s much harder to follow through with it. Just look at the statistics on the amount of gym memberships purchased in January every year, and how many of those are cancelled within five months. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I would bet that it’s pretty high.
The point is, the implication on the word ‘resolution’ is that success has already been achieved, which can influence the mind into a feeling of satisfaction and content. Neither of these emotions are conducive towards a life of continuous evolution. As a result, any personal performance that is below this new standard will only lead to disappointment, frustration, and eventually, forfeiture.
It’s simply a matter of micro versus macro. A ‘resolution’ is a wide angle view, whereas an ‘intention’ is a more narrow perspective. By shifting our focus with a simple adjustment in language, naturally we will start to view any forward progress as success — because life is a journey, and there is no final destination.
The calendar has flipped to 2021, so let’s all vow to officially put an end to New Year’s ‘Resolutions’, and replace them with New Year’s ‘Intentions’ going forward.