Rethinking New Year's Resolutions
Seeking & spreading joy
I’m proud to announce that I will be teaching a joint discussion and cooking class, “Insight into Health: Healthspan & the Kitchen,” at the Sonoma Community Center on January 10th, 2026!
I have never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions.
Even when growing up, I was aware that all too often, they quickly led to failure. I would avoid setting my own to avoid becoming a failure, too.
New Year’s resolutions, though, come with the territory of being a dietitian. I often joke that I am the most popular person in January. And then my fifteen minutes of fame fade just as quickly as they started.
I’ve never liked this type of popularity. It bums me out that health and nutrition are linked with this performative tradition. I’d so much rather that my area of passion and expertise be associated with intrigue, optimism, and intention.
Here’s the problem with New Year’s resolutions: they are famously about correcting a personal deficiency.
I’m going to exercise more
I’m going to spend less
I’m going to be more organized
I’m going to eat better (whatever that means)
Each of these popular resolutions suggests that there is something wrong that needs to be fixed. I didn’t even include the ever-popular, “I’m going to lose weight,” on this list.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe that we are all works in progress and will be for the rest of our lives. This is part of what makes us human — always striving to improve.
It’s the idea that January is the time that we are supposed to guilt and shame ourselves into behaving that doesn’t sit well with me.
Last year was the first year I recall ever setting a New Year’s resolution, and it was made more in the spirit of fun when someone asked me what my resolution was.
Instead of launching into my pessimism around New Year’s resolutions, I thought about something I’ve always wanted to do and resolved that in 2025, I would take a dance class.
Dancing is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl, but (believe it or not), I was far too shy to put myself out there. I was too caught up in the whole “I don’t want to be a failure” to risk trying something so new.
It turned out that simply setting and stating my New Year’s resolution out loud opened doors to more dance class opportunities than I realized were available.
All told, I took several dance classes over the course of the year:
Swing, Waltz, and Rumba lessons with my husband, Lyle
Swing dance class (x2!) with neighbors after I shared my New Year’s resolution
Tap dance class taught by the one and only, TJ Carter, at our community center
Better yet, I plan to continue seeking out these and other dance classes into 2026 — something most can’t say about their New Year’s resolutions.
But why is that?
Why is it that New Year’s resolutions seem to be synonymous with failure?
I have a theory: framing New Year’s resolutions around correcting a personal failure is something that’s difficult to face every single day. And as January bleeds into February, it’s no surprise that an estimated 80% of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned by the end of January.
As a new dietitian, I approach this time of year armed with SMART goals. I work with patients and classes and at health fairs to take the normal New Year’s resolutions and put them into the SMART framework: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, & Time-based.
The idea was that simply saying, “I’m going to eat better,” was too vague to be able to implement, evaluate, and determine if the resolution was “met.” So instead, I would help people craft more specific statements, such as, “I’m going to eat at least one vegetable every day for the next 90 days.” A statement that meets all of the SMART goal criteria.
The problem was that even SMART goals became overly focused on “fixing” something wrong.
While I’m no psychology expert, I know enough to respect that positivity works better than negativity with others, as well as ourselves.
What if we approached this arbitrary time of “new beginnings” with positivity? Joy seeking? Joy spreading? I think it is worth a try.
I encourage you all to rethink your New Year’s resolution. Instead of finding something wrong that you want to fix, what is something that you could do to bring a little more joy to yourself or others?
Go to a concert?
Volunteer at the animal shelter?
Take a (dance, art, music…) class?
Have lunch with a different friend each month?
As for me, my New Year’s resolution this year is to go skiing. I’ve wanted to get back on skis for the last three years, but time, money, and lack of planning have gotten in the way.
By making my resolution known to family, friends, and all of you this year, I hope that many open doors and opportunities will follow.
What is your joy-seeking and/or joy-spreading resolution for 2026? Feel free to comment or email me directly at insightintohealth@gmail.com.
Thanks for being here,
~Allison
A quick reminder that you will hear me live on air Mondays at 7 pm on Sonoma Valley’s own KSVY radio, 91.3, or stream anywhere from ksvy.org. Can’t tune in live? No problem! The show notes and the recordings are posted every Tuesday at insightintohealth.substack.com.
If you are interested in working with me as a patient (to move beyond New Year’s resolutions!), my schedule is now available.
Love this reframe! Thanks for the invitation, Allison!
I share your perspective on New Year’s resolutions. Any meaningful change I have needed to make in my life did not track to a calendar…they were quiet and private and necessary. But I love this idea of committing to joy. Learning certainly is that for me, even when it’s intimidating and scary I love the thrill of the try. This year, I would like to try swimming in open water. Happy skiing and happy new year!