Resolving to Make No Resolutions.

So, it is now 2012, and I wish all who may read this a very happy and wonderful New Year. It is around this time that most of us make some kind of resolution about how we are going to change our behaviour. But, psychologically speaking, if what I've gleaned from a quick scroll over the internet is true, such efforts to shift our lifestyles may be doomed to failure. By giving ourselves goals which are sometimes unrealistic we condemn ourselves to disappointment.
Indeed, the whole issue of goal setting is, psychologically, a complex one. People have written whole, very weighty, books on the subject. But, to grind it down to just one or two principles, it seems that when setting ourselves some form of goal it should, first and foremost, be achievable and realistic. So, as we are often advised by mental health services, instead of trying to achieve your resolution in one giant leap, try to break it down into smaller, more realistic, aims. For example, if you want, as I do, to learn something new (a new language, perhaps) just start by setting yourself the goal of maybe looking on the internet for available courses in your area. This way, by breaking your goal down first into a smaller, achievable, constituent part, you will probably have more success. The achievement of this first goal should then lead you on to a second realistic aim, and so on and so on.
It is also advisable to perhaps set yourself a time limit for the achievement of your goal. So, having first broken your resolution down into smaller, realistic aims, you could give yourself, say, two weeks to get this first aim done. This way you can chart your progress and see a real advancement towards your ultimate goal.
This is advice we often get from mental health services, and which may prove useful to some who want to change their behaviour in some way or try something new. Many of us, though, are not that great at goal setting and actually achieving resolutions, and so, this year, my resolution may be to make no resolutions at all. Indeed, many of us, fed up by not achieving our goals, may end up like the chap in the painting by Philip Guston below, lying down, smoking and surrounded by the food we said we were going to eat less of.

"Painting, Smoking, Eating", by Philip Guston. (1973).

So, as a new year dawns, I wish all of you the very best of luck in actually achieving your resolutions. As for me, I will, as I say, perhaps resolve to make no resolutions. I'm going to let life just wash over me, I think, and suck up as much as I can on the way, or, in the words of the old song, que sera, sera, whatever will be will be.