By: Stephanie Reynolds
Are you Camp “Resolution” or Camp “No Resolution”?
Some people recognize that a new year, a new month, even a new Monday is a great time to start a new habit.
Some folks are a little bit wary of jumping on the “new” bandwagon and prefer to not make resolutions. They might see it as silly—if they aren’t going to change in March, why would they change in January (or maybe they’re perfect just the way they are)?
Both are fair, I think. Psychologically, a new year really is a good time to start a new habit because the brain registers a new year more significantly than a random Thursday in August. It’s also why we (re)start diets on Monday, though on a smaller scale. Get it?! Diets on a smaller scale? HAHAHA! Oh. Apparently, honing my terrible puns needs to be moved up on my list of resolutions for 2026.
For now, let’s let the “No Resolutions” crowd just keep doing their fabulous things and you and I can chat. I have two (…three?…um…five?) ideas to help you and me make sure we end 2026 slightly better than how we found it.
We all know the idea of SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). Make goals that you will do, make them specific, don’t reach beyond your grasp, know your “why,” make them something you can track. You can read any self-help book for more info on making SMART goals, but I have something different in mind…
Our biggest problem, I think, is that when we mess up once, we bail on our goal. Perfect or terrible. We failed, right?
Not at all! Life is life! It isn’t 0% or 100% and that’s okay! We need to get comfy with 46% and the 73% and even the 0.582%. Doing our resolution 0.582% of the time is better than none of the time. Doing it 46% of the time is better than 0.582%. When you start getting into the 70%s, you have made a good lifestyle change!
So instead of, “I failed today, might as well just fail bigger and restart in the next new year,” stop and say, “Yeah, I am not at 100% of my goal today, but I am at 64%. And 64% is awesome. Let’s hold at 64% right now and try again tomorrow.”
Every day, do just a little bit better. Every day is your new year.
My next secret weapon is “back-up plan.” I’m training for long race in March. My expectations are realistic—I am slow as molasses in January. However, I just need to go 30 miles, which means exercise.
But sometimes I don’t sleep well or don’t feel good. That happened yesterday. I was supposed to run for two hours at 4:30 a.m. It absolutely didn’t happen. I didn’t even get out of bed. Sorry, not sorry.
But I had a backup plan: do some squats, calf raises, etc. at work in my fancy clothes. It took less than 15 minutes. It was fine to miss my daily goal because I still helped my long-term goal. Substitutions are great ways to keep your momentum. Anything is better than nothing.
Now, here is my really big idea for keeping a resolution: Make it FUN! No one said resolutions must be miserable. Yes, I want you to make sure you are healthy and well because I want you around a long time.
But why not make fun resolutions? If you like food, how about “Try one fruit per month that I have never tried before”? Or “Find the most colorful dessert in Limestone County”?
What about things like “Get on Google Earth and virtually explore one new foreign city every Thursday evening”? Or if you want to get exercise as well, get on a treadmill and pull up a tour video for that city and explore it that way, like you are actually walking it.
What about “With only $5 (or $10 or whatever) each month, find the best gift in Limestone County”? This will also give you a drawer full of gifts by next Christmas, which will make that season a little easier.
What about “Try one new skill,” “Explore one new trail,” “Go to one new store,” “Learn one foreign greeting,” “Write one new song,” “Draw one new picture,” “Pet one new dog”?
How about “Taste test the mocha lattes in every coffee shop in Limestone County and rank them?” (Oohh…invite me to that one.)
You could: Find a new pair of weird socks every month. Ask a store worker to take a selfie with you. Try all the candy in a specific line (I recommend Haribo). Find the best steak in our county. Find one new concert or event to go to each month.
You might say, “These aren’t doing anything for your betterment.” Aha! You are mistaken! Every new thing builds actual new mental connections. You are working out your brain, which will help with mental, emotional, and cognitive stuff.
But mostly it’s fun. And life can be fun. It’s okay to have fun.
So, my Resolutionists, let me know what you choose (call, email, or drop by).
We might find that we even convinced a “No New Resolutions!” person to join us! I hope so. There are plenty of socks/candy/dogs/coffee/selfies/events/fruit/trails to go around.
By: Stephanie Reynolds, Athens-Limestone Tourism Association
