Why a New Year’s Resolution is Harder Than a Rubik’s Cube

For years I have avoided the following things: Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and New Year’s Eve.

Why so serious, you ask?

Well, because these things are filled with rituals I hate: excessive drinking, horrible performances, forced kissing, forced intimacy, thongs, and resolutions that don’t last.

Resolutions have always felt so unattainable to me.  Nice, in theory, but let’s be honest, by January 5th – when it’s like Elsa cold outside – I need a nap and certainly have no motivation to go to the gym.

My incredible nutritionist, Haley, revealed in her latest newsletter that 92% of New Yorkers don’t keep their resolutions! 92%!! That’s worse than the President’s approval rating which is pretty dismal.

So, do we get rid of resolutions like packing peanuts and Beanie Babies? Is it a thing of the past like the Sadie Hawkins dance and rollerskating?

Or is it something we can reinvent in a way that feels possible. I just want to start with possible.

So here’s what I think you can do:

1. Decide 3 areas in your life that need a little “Cinderelly” sprucing.

2. Get even more specific about those 3 areas and WRITE down a plan.

3. Tell someone and let them be your buddy.

4. Constantly check in, talk about it, go outside and get a drink with your friends, and keep going.

But none if it has to be in the traditional resolution sense.

For example, for 2015, I have decided to do a Reading Challenge because reading a book keeps me off Facebook, keeps me creative, and keeps me sane, ultimately making me a better actor, friend, and girlfriend.

If I had said at midnight on December 31st, “Guys, I am going to read a book a week and all the classics!” I would never actually do it, because that’s just too overwhelming.

Instead, I did a little research and found a reading challenge on Pop Sugar which gives you a pretty awesome check list for the year. Things like: read a book by a female author, read a play, read a novel with more than 500 pages, read a book with an author who has the same initials as you.

Now I feel like Sherlock Holmes, and that means this “resolution in disguise” is fun and therefore, attainable. 

Then, I throw something a little more conventional in the mix. This might sound like: Marisa, you’re 30 years old. Go to the fucking gym and stop whining like a baby, so you can look good when you have a baby.

Now I have an actual plan with tasks and I am ready to roll.

Most importantly, I have people around me to keep me motivated and keep me on task, because, trust me, no one wants to take a nap and cry more than me. 

So, come on over to the WTAIN website, Facebook page, Twitter (all the internet things) and be apart of a community that’s getting real this year.

Comment and tell us what resonates with you. Tell us your goals, plans, missions, kale cleanses–whatever it is.

We want to know!

Joe and I are ready to really live this year. Are you in?