Do you fail your new years resolution?

Resolutions Suck

It was the 2003 First Night celebration in Albany, New York.

It was cold and fun-ish in its own mundane way, I had snuck a flask of spirits to the event to make the whole thing tolerable.

The United States Postal Service in their wisdom had offered their impeccable services to help the First Night goers to make and keep new year's resolutions. 

The plan was simple. Fill out a very ugly postcard with your address and resolution. Six months later this little card would be mailed to you with a reminder that you had forgotten to go to the gym.

Filled with teenage angst and pride I confidently wrote down the only resolution that I remember. 

“I resolute to not resolute”

Yes, I was in my own way rebelling against this wise tradition.

After years of iterations trying to have resolutions or not resolving I am left conflicted.

The new year is a wonderful time to get started on something new, take some time to consider what you want to be better next year. Yet we generally fail.

The Forbes Health/One Poll survey found that the average resolution lasts just 3.74 months. Only 8% of respondents tend to stick with their goals for one month, while 22% last two months, 22% last three months and 13% last four months.

Bad prospects.

Luckily a friend at a party had a bracelet with a disk of metal with a word they stamped on it. 

From the beginning I loved the idea. Partly because I’m a jeweler and mostly because having a bracelet with your yearly inspiration word is just cool.

So I went home and made silver beads for my wife and me with our well thought out words. 

This year it has been fun to see how our words influenced our lives in small ways. 

It has been a way to embody a new essence and thoughtfulness in our lives without the guilt of letting ourselves down and suffering the subsequent negative reinforcement that this causes. 

How does this work?

Instead of letting yourself get jaded this year, take a few days to think about a quality that would make your life better. Use your scrabble skills or ChatGPT to find a word that encapsulates the quality that you are looking to bring into your life.

For myself I struggle to show myself and put myself out there in the big bad world. I did not just want to try to get attention but offer myself honestly.

My brainstorm: 

Authentic

Real 

Genuine 

Brave 

Go

Do it (two words I know, but we have to make tough choices)

Courage

Then comes the uncomfortable fact that a little disk only fits 8-10 characters. So be thoughtful.

Brevity is the soul of wit! Make it work.

My word for 2024 is  Courage because I find that it is small things like asking an amazing friend to read and subscribe to my newsletter that I am most hesitant about and find hardest to do. I thought that my word would be Authentic but I realize that I need a specific reminder to move past my personal barriers and take action when I am afraid to.

What will your word be?

I will be making 5 free New years disk bracelets for the first readers to recruit one or more subscribers. Made of sterling silver and hand stamped by me on a hand braided macrame bracelet(Value of $100).

Respond to this email with your word and how you came to choose that word.