Ah yes, the New Year Resolution. I know many people think it’s a meaningless tradition, and it can be, but most people just haven’t tasted success as a result of making them. Many either abandon hope of personal improvement just weeks into the New Year and decide to try again the next, or have such a bad taste from previous years that they don’t even bother trying. Have you ever wondered why so many people make the same resolution each year? Could it be because they remained exactly the same as the year before? Like they ran a 365 day long circle and the finish line became the starting line (I’m reminded of the film “Groundhog Day”)? Shouldn’t we have new starting lines each year?

Everyone wants breakthrough in their life, but breakthrough doesn’t come easy. If it did, then we would all be pretty amazing, awesome, powerful people by now wouldn’t we? We tend to go down the path of least resistance, or the path of familiar, but breakthrough is always a new place which requires an act of violence. I’m not talking about “violence” as in “criminal activity.” I’m talking about “violence” as “swift and intense force.” After all, it is called “break-through” for a reason. Something needs to break, or shatter, in order for new life to begin. An old paradigm, or pattern of thinking, must be broken in order for a new one to be installed and activated. In order for something to break, it requires force. Sometimes “swift and intense force.”

Have you ever seen a sail boat switch courses? The wheel rotates; the rudder shifts;  the boom swings hard across the main deck; ropes loosen for a moment and then constrict sharply with tension; the sail bends and shifts under the wind; and the entire hull is pressed firmly against the water. It’s a violent process that requires complete intention and attention. If one doesn’t stay aware throughout the process then he might find himself getting hit with the boom or slipping off the side.

I think this is a good analogy for the New Year. A New Year Resolution is a shift in course and a plan for a new destination. However, a plan is worthless without action. That’s why we need to take the first step of grabbing the steering wheel and directing our lives toward our desired destination. When we take the first step of changing course, it sets off a chain reaction that requires our full attention. Many people lose sight of their goal during the process, or may even become fearful of the “violence” that ensues, and give up. That’s why so many resolutions go unfulfilled each year. Most of us can turn the steering wheel, but few can withstand the shift of the boat. Don’t believe me? ” Try making a resolution this year like cutting out sweets or sugar…especially if you have a big “sweet-tooth.” How much force does it take you to stay away from the sugary delicacies each time you see them? Your stomach growls, the “pleasure center” in your brain starts going off, and your mouth begins to salivate. It takes a strong and violent force to get you to turn away and walk in the opposite direction.

Try creating some resolutions this year. It’s actually a good exercise to practice throughout the year. I suggest keeping this idea in mind as you create a new course: reflect on the past, create a vision for your future, and respond to the present according to that vision. After all, as Socrates so famously said,“The unexamined life is not worth living .”