Remember when you were a kid and heard for the first time about the ball dropping at midnight? People gathering in the streets of NYC to watch the spectacle? I remember imagining it all. I couldn’t wait to be old enough to stay up and watch. A huge, glimmering sphere of lights … the size of 10 houses … falling from the top of the Empire State Building onto the cordoned-off streets below. An explosion of glass and metal to the applause of a million in attendance. When I was old enough to finally stay up, I watched as a tiny yard decoration descended slowly along what looked like a 4-foot spire. What?!
Reality could never live up to expectations. As I grew older still, that idea seemed to apply to more and more New Year’s Eve traditions — not the least of which were my resolutions.
Left to my own devices, I’d build my year into something wild, huge, and, honestly, unachievable. Like the monster ball being dropped off a skyscraper, it just wasn’t reality. The resolution became a weapon against me; a 30,000-foot measuring stick. So, this year I’m doing resolutions differently. I’m using what I’ve learned from experts like James Clear, Brené Brown, and Rufus Griscom and built a Mad-Lib-style resolution-maker. Take it for a spin, stay realistic, and set your sights on real, gradual improvement in 2022.