Becoming Resolute
At the risk of echoing the myriad articles and sound bites about setting New Year’s Resolutions, I’m going to say it: setting a New Year’s Resolution is daunting, and it kind of sucks. Many of us set these lofty long-term goals and might even call it a win if we stick with a drastic lifestyle change for a week, then we’ve met our change quota for the year and we can settle back into the old routines for about 350 days. Some of us are happy we’ve made our resolution stick for one week or one month, and some of us are left with yet another sense of letdown.
In the Midwest at least, the new year actually coincides nicely with what I think of as the growing calendar. Yes, feet of snow still covers the ground and some days it’s literally too cold to go outside, but being cooped up inside is also the perfect time to start researching seed sand planting methods you want to try this year. It’s a great time to plan your planting space and sketching out your garden areas. If you are a preserver, now’s the time to determine what needs to be planted for canning this year and what can wait until next year.
All of these tasks–these new and exciting tasks for new and experienced growers alike–are promises. I will plant kale this year (and maybe even eat it too). I will plant six pepper plants. I will fill all of my seed trays with hopes, promises, and life.
These promises are resolutions. They are a conscious decision to change part of our life, and do or not do something.
Even for the most experienced planter and grower, how we garden is a change each year and requires dedication, commitment, planning, and discipline (especially when it comes time to pull weeds).
It’s hard to think about routine tasks as resolutions–after all, we do them all the time, and it’s not (usually) very hard, so what’s the big deal? Resolutions should be BIG. Resolutions should be AMAZING. Resolutions should be RESOLUTION-Y. Tell me again why resolutions seem so impossible?
If you are considering getting swept up in resolution mania this year, I invite you to join me in becoming resolute rather than setting a resolution. The distinctions are subtle (and as an English teacher, I would love to go into many of these distinctions, but I will only point out one: becoming is a change within ourselves; setting is a change to something outside of us. We set the table. We set the cruise control. We set resolutions). Whatever you do this year, be resolute in your decisions. If you can’t-or won’t–commit to it, then let it go. If you will not be purposeful about what you do, consider whether it’s worth doing this year. Rather than add onto what’s likely a busy and stress-filled plate, enhance what’s already on there. Become resolute in what you do, and move through this year with purpose.