How we shape things. One man who thought about this was Henry Moore. He was an English sculptor who took a different approach to the art form. His pieces were organically shaped and abstract. He impacted the way we see sculpture today. But I’m not here to talk about his sculpting. I was struck by something he said, which was this:
“I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the years.”
Now that is quite a way to think. The resolutions we make each day.
Not the years.
This is always on my mind at the start of every year. When all those people, all across the land, make their New Year’s Resolutions.
So. Here it is. Nearing the end of February. And I wonder how all those people are doing with their brand-new lives. Were they truly committed, or was it all a bunch of babble?
An average of 44% of Americans make a New Year’s resolution before the night of December 31 is over. I never do it, just for the record.
But here is the thing. A whopping 81% fail by February.
What are people resolving to do? And then not doing? The four most popular types of goals for those promises are:
• to exercise
• to eat well
• to lose weight
• to save money
I had hoped that things like “be more compassionate” or “act with kindness” would have been at the top of the list. But apparently, waist size is more significant in most people’s lives.
Here are a few breakdowns of the failure statistics.
• Just 8% of people who make those resolutions will still be committed to them by the end of the year.
• Unfortunately, 22% fail after the first week.
• 40% fail after one month.
Over 100 million user statistics concerning resolutions were analyzed by Strava. They found the most common day for people to quit their fitness resolutions is January 19th. They’ve even called it “Quitters Day.”
We can thank the Babylonians for all of this mess. It was more than 4,000 years ago when the Babylonians started this tradition. They were trying to be better people and called the celebration “Akitu.” It was meant to be a time for them to recommit to God.
I should note the word “babble” comes from the Middle Low German word “babbelen” which I am sure came from Babylonia somehow.
Which brings us back to resolutions and the quote by Moore.
May we all think in terms of daily resolutions.
Do what is right in front of us.
It just seems better that way.
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“If I can’t stay where I am, and I can’t, then I will put all that I can into the going.”
― Jeanette Winterson
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“It is always during a passing state of mind that we make lasting resolutions.”
— Marcel Proust
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“Either I will find a way, or I will make one.”
— Sir P. Sidney
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Resolve. Or don’t. But do it. Or don’t.
