As another year rolls around, I am (still) not doing enough exercise. And so, yet again, I will resolve to exercise more. But why am I not able to complete this New Year’s Resolution? Is it because there is something wrong with the concept of changing your life around the arbitrary date of January 1st? Or is it simply that my resolve just isn’t quite strong enough?
This year, I have decided that New Year’s Resolutions are out. Why am I not currently doing enough exercise? Because it is winter. It’s freezing cold, and dark outside at 4.00pm. If January 1st was to fall in the summer, it might be a different story. In the summer, I (shockingly) do more exercise, not just because of the weather, but also it’s far easier to find the time to exercise when I am not tied down by university life. So although I am resolving to exercise more, I won’t consider it a failure when I don’t go running at 7.00am, three times a week. Instead, I will reassess in the spring and make sure I am moving more as the weather improves. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter too much to me if I exercise for most of the year and take a hiatus during the coldest months.This doesn’t mean I’m doing away with my New Year’s Resolution completely, but I don’t want to be demotivated from the start. I want to give myself a chance at success.
I should say that I am not just blaming the weather for my rather shaky commitment to doing more exercise. Last year, I decided to read more books than I did in 2022, and successfully completed this, according to my 2024 Goodreads challenge. I have also previously given up chocolate for Lent, and not caved in. So I don’t think it’s about me – I really do think that the arbitrary date of January 1st, being right in the middle of winter, is what’s stopping me.
Structuring self-improvement around random dates rarely works. What if you want to improve your life in June? There’s no point waiting for January to roll around to make a difference. It’s much better to just get on with listening to that mindfulness podcast, or start getting up early to do some yoga. It is important to remember that, as students, our lives are structured not around the calendar year, but the academic one. It’s much easier to make good habits in our own calendars – calendars that begin in October, not January. Why not resolve to spend more time in the library in third year, instead of in the New Year? Or commit to changing your exercise habits in the summer, when you have more time, rather than when the deadlines are piling up in Hilary.
So New Year’s Resolutions, at least when considered in a strict way, are out. This year, I certainly want to improve myself. But my graduation this summer is a much bigger turning point than January 1st, and I’m sure I’ll see far more changes this summer and next autumn than I can force upon myself right now.
