Why I’m Giving Up New Year’s Resolutions in 2020

It happens at the start of every New Year. I make a New Year’s resolution. And three weeks into the New Year, my resolution is broken — leaving me feeling discouraged, defeated, and hopeless. So, in 2020, I’m giving up New Year resolutions and replacing them with New ‘Day’ resolutions instead.

The Struggle to Keep New Year’s Resolutions Alive

Have you ever struggled to keep New Year’s resolutions too and felt like giving up? If so, I’m sure we’re not alone. In fact, I’ve heard from many people who joke that sometimes their New Year’s resolutions don’t make it past the first day! We can all relate, can’t we?

But, why can’t we continue with these good-intentioned resolutions? What is it that makes keeping them so hard?

I believe it’s because we’re human after all. And, most times, our New Year’s resolutions carry too high of an expectation for us to be able to meet them in the first place. For example, we may make a New Year’s resolution to lose 50 pounds in the New Year. Or, we may resolve to forego arguing with our children or our husband. Or perhaps our resolution is to spend an hour each day in prayer.

How in the world can we expect to meet such lofty goals every day of the year when we are imperfect people?

That’s why I’m giving up New Year’s resolutions in 2020 and focusing on New ‘Day’ resolutions instead.

Let’s Create Realistic Resolutions

I’m all for goal setting and for challenging ourselves, but I’ve learned that my goals need to be realistic. Otherwise, I’m setting myself up for failure. Consequently, I’ve decided to ditch the traditional New Year resolutions and focus on New ‘Day’ resolutions instead.

Why New ‘Day’ Resolutions?

I came up with the idea for New ‘Day’ resolutions after receiving an Advent calendar from my church. Throughout the entire month of December, I’d look at the calendar for that day and see what the message said. Some days it spoke of finding joy. Other days the task was to pray in the morning or to serve the needy in some way. I found myself looking forward to what was on the calendar for that day. It was a ‘mini’ challenge so to speak. A way for me to feel like I was contributing to doing something good for myself, for others, and ultimately for God that day.

An example of a New ‘Day’ resolution for 2020 might be to do my housework without complaining that day. Can I make it 24 hours without grumbling about folding the laundry, cleaning the kitchen, or making dinner? I certainly hope so. But, can I achieve this for 365 days in the New Year? Certainly not!  And because of that, I tend to beat myself up for not keeping up with that resolution that year. On the other hand, with a New ‘Day’ resolution, even if I didn’t go the entire day without complaining, I can still celebrate that I gave it a try and that tomorrow is new challenge for a new day.

Sample New ‘Day’ Resolutions to Try

The possibilities for New ‘Day’ resolutions are limitless. Here are some examples to try …

Committing to spending the first few minutes of the day with God instead of reaching for the cell phone to get on social media

Deciding to be joyful today despite my circumstances

Surrendering my day to Jesus, taking the good and the bad, and asking him to simply ‘take care of it all’

Giving my husband or kids a hug today

Holding my tongue today when someone says something I don’t’ agree with and choosing silence instead

Refusing to speak words that tear others down today and instead choosing to speak only words of encouragement and love

Finding three things I’m grateful for this day

Reflecting on where I saw Jesus today

Choosing to get one room of my house in order today to clear the clutter from my home and my mind

Making a choice to pick something from my closet today to wear instead of filling my need to buy something from the store

Paying attention to my thoughts today and seeing how they affect my emotions and actions

And, the list goes on and on!

Why I Think New ‘Day’ Resolutions Are More Effective

Make no mistake, I believe creating daily resolutions pack just as much punch as making yearly ones. In fact, I think New ‘Day’ resolutions are more effective. Think about it. Our priorities and our goals change so much that a New Year’s resolution we made in January may not reflect our needs six months from now. By contrast, with daily resolutions, we can pick a resolution for the day that addresses our needs right where we are. Whether it’s focusing on a virtue that we feel God is calling us to adopt or cultivating a good habit for the day in an area in which we are struggling.

I think daily resolutions are not only doable, they’re measurable too. At the end of the day, we can sit back and reflect on whether we were able to keep that resolution for the day. If so, that’s great. If not, that’s ok too. With daily resolutions, we don’t have the weight of 365 days on our shoulders to fulfill the resolution.  And, we don’t have to beat ourselves up for failing to do so.  Instead, we can remember that each day is a fresh start. We can begin tomorrow with a new resolution for a new day. Now that brings hope rather than defeat and despair.

Why Not Try It?

I’m excited to give this New ‘Day’ resolution idea a try for 2020. After all, what do I have to lose? Will you join me?

To participate, you can either decide the night before what your resolution for the next day might be. Or, pray about it that morning and see what God puts on your heart to focus on that day. Another idea is to create a calendar similar to an Advent calendar and create one daily resolution for each day of the month. You can do this by writing them on a paper 2020 calendar by hand or create a calendar online. Bottom line – keep it simple. The goal is to focus on the challenge for that day, not to over-complicate things.

If you give my New ‘Day’ resolution a try, I hope you’ll report back and let me know it goes.

Happy 2020 everyone!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. – 2 Corinthians 4:16 (ESV)

Do you have suggestions for New ‘Day’ resolutions for the New Year? If so, please share in the comments section below. And, if you’ve tried this daily resolution challenge, please share your feedback. We’d love to cheer you on!