It has been a month since the year 2024 raised its curtain. Now, it’s a good time to do an interim check of your New Year’s resolutions. Have you safely ridden out “Quitter’s Day”? People call the second Friday in January Quitter’s Day because people are likely to quit carrying out their resolutions in two weeks.
We also have an idiom in Korea, “Jak-sim-sam-il,” which means that people fail to stick to their determination within three days. Every year, people shout, “This year won’t be Jak-sim-sam-il!” out loud. An interesting point is that this has a scientific basis. We have adrenalin and cortisol, which are defense hormones to stress, and the expiration date for their secretion is three days – voila! We don’t have to blame ourselves so harshly for not resisting the temptation of Quitter’s Day.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE AND RESOLUTIONS
Before this year began, I was a bit skeptical about the whole ‘New Year, New Me’ concept. What’s so special if it’s just the first day of the year under the Gregorian calendar, implemented by the Pope in the 16th century to modify the Julian calendar? What’s significant about it, other than marking the completion of one revolution of the Earth?
It was a rebellion against the backdrop of abundant experiences of failure in sticking to decisions throughout the year. A small piece of fear lingered, wondering when my resolutions would crumble this year, lurking in one corner of my mind.
Around the end of the year, tons of videos related to New Year’s resolutions pour out. Some share their new plans and ambitions or show routines to keep their daily lives organized. Others give tips on how to persist in the very first decision. What I found is that they commonly emphasize that the problem is not in our willpower but in the system. These people suggest effective systems to consistently maintain plans.
At the same time, the easy-to-fail characteristics of resolutions reproduce a great number of memes every year. “The gym was full of people on Jan. 1 but empty after a few days” – these kinds of things. It’s relieving to see people not getting depressed by human’s weak willpower and finding humor in it.
IT’S ALL ABOUT MODIFYING AND KEEP WORKING ON
I was a control freak when it came to plans. During my freshman year in the university, I made a four-year plan. Naturally, the plan was destined to go awry at some point. When that ‘some point’ arrived, I blamed myself. At 18 years old, I couldn’t realize the simple fact that I could modify the plan and move forward again. I was overwhelmed by the shattered plans.
Now I have become a more flexible person. I know how to establish new goals and am adept at rescheduling. I sometimes daringly give up routines to make better decisions. This is the process of setting up a good system.
Every team in the company always creates a new plan after receiving feedback from the leader, and tech corporations conduct several beta tests before presenting their hardware or software. Even governments, sensitive to the budget constraints, carry out experiments.
For example, many countries are executing a social experiment to check the feasibility and effectiveness of the Universal Basic Income (UBI). Starting from Stockton, Calif., many cities such as Los Angeles, Oakland, Tacoma, and more have joined the system. Additionally, Finland, Spain, and Germany have also experimented with UBI outside the U.S. It is normal to keep revising our plans to approach the success of resolutions.
Circling back to New Year’s resolutions, some people might shudder at New Year, New Me concepts and feel everything is just about giving meaning, as I did for a while. However, it might not be that bad if we regard the beginning of the year as the time to check the mid-results of our goals. It is the perfect time to build new plans, conduct self-beta tests, empty unnecessary habits, and fill necessary routines. And this system might be a good excuse to jump over the hump of Quitter’s Day.
Kyungmin Min is an international intern from Korea.
