New Year’s Resolutions Blog

Top 10 ways to convince yourself it’s okay to break your New Year’s Resolution

Friday, January 12th, 2007

If you’re taking your resolution seriously, you might not want to read these! Then again, they’re not very rational, so maybe they’ll give you a good laugh..

1. I used to eat a lot of ice cream as a kid, and I was skinny then, so an all-ice cream diet will totally help me lose weight. I can forget this vegetables nonsense, my size 2 goal lies at the bottom of a pint of Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk.
2. A beer isn’t really a drink. A shot might be, but maybe not if I chase it with a beer. And a glass of wine with dinner is absolutely necessary to enjoy the fine flavor of my meal, so it doesn’t count either.
3. I’ll run faster tomorrow if I rest today. (Okay, maybe sometimes this is true… but not if “today” turns into “this week” or “this month”!)
4. I can eat this whole pizza if I work out tomorrow. (Even if you do work out–which you wont–it’s not too likely you’ll burn off all the pizza calories, unless you happen to be competing in an Ironman or something.)
5. I’ll spend more time with my family as soon as things slow down a little bit at work. (This is no better or more specific than saying that you’ll do something “someday.” In the immortal words of CCR, Someday Never Comes!)
6. Driving to work instead of biking is better because the pistons in an engine are stronger and more efficient than the “pistons” that are my legs.
7. I need to keep smoking so I can keep myself from gaining weight.
8. Jack Bauer might not prevail if I stop watching TV, so I don’t have the time to work on my novel right now.
9. I keep forgetting that I’ve given up sweets for 2007. My friends really like to eat desserts, too, so I don’t want to make them feel bad by turning down the awesome cakes (and pies, and cookies… mmm) they make.
10. I can stop stressing about everything once I get everything done!

I bet at least a couple of those seem familiar! People are surprisingly good at rationalizing almost anything (just think about the world of politicians). It’s okay to slip up once in a while, but don’t make it a habit, and don’t make a few mistakes an excuse to stop trying. Maybe you can read these silly self-delusions as a reminder of how easy it is to trick yourself into thinking a behavior is okay. Then, turn it around and do your best to rationalize why you need to keep your resolution! Always use the power of the brain for good purposes.

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