Every January, we tell ourselves this year will be different. We set ambitious resolutions, stock up on supplies, and charge forward with determination.
By February, most of those resolutions have quietly disappeared.
The problem isn’t you. It’s the entire concept of resolutions.
Resolutions are binary—you’re either keeping them or you’ve failed. They’re built on the fantasy of becoming a different person overnight. On January 1st, you’re supposed to transform into someone who works out daily, eats perfectly, and maintains a spotless inbox. When you inevitably have a bad day (because you’re human), the whole thing crumbles.
Resolutions also ignore context. They assume your life in March will look exactly like it did in January, that your energy and circumstances will remain constant. When life throws you a curveball—a busy season at work, a sick kid, or just plain exhaustion—there’s no room to adapt. You’re either on or off the wagon.
Practices work differently. A practice isn’t a promise to be perfect; it’s a commitment to keep showing up, even imperfectly. It’s something you do, not something you achieve. You don’t “complete” a practice or “fail” at it. You simply return to it, again and again.
Think about brushing your teeth. You don’t set a resolution to “brush your teeth every single day this year.” You just brush your teeth. Some days you’re thorough, other days you’re half-asleep and rushing. Sometimes you skip a night when you’re sick. But you don’t declare yourself a failure and stop brushing. You just pick up the toothbrush the next day.
That’s the power of thinking in practices instead of resolutions. A practice can be imperfect and still be valuable. It can shrink during hard times and expand during easier ones. It grows with you rather than against you.
When you shift from resolutions to practices, you stop waiting for the perfect moment to start. You don’t need a Monday or a new month or a fresh notebook. You can start from exactly where you are, with exactly what you have. The practice doesn’t require you to be different—it helps you become different, slowly, through repetition rather than revolution.
This January, instead of asking “What do I want to achieve?” try asking “What do I want to practice?” The answer might be smaller and less impressive. But it will actually stick.