When the new year comes, it’s common to set a New Year’s resolution, but as anyone who’s ever set a resolution knows, it’s challenging to keep up. To hold myself accountable, I decided to write about my experiences.
The tradition of making New Year’s resolutions actually comes from the Babylonians. That means for over 4,000 years, people have been making — and failing to stick with — their resolutions. It’s so common to quit your resolution that Jan. 17 has been declared “Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day” because most people have already given up their resolutions by that point. In fact, one Forbes survey found that 30% of people give up their New Year’s resolution within a month of making it.
One of my resolutions this year was to exercise more, and since it was the most tangible of all my goals, I decided to write about it for this article. For the purpose of this article, exercising more means I will be doing burpees daily.
If you’re unfamiliar with burpees, they are a simple full-body exercise that is essentially a push-up followed by leaping into the air. I have not had to take a physical education class in two years, so it was sure to prove to be a challenge.
I decided the best way to measure progress would be to count the number of burpees I could do and time myself, so I could see my improvement.
Day 1: 15 burpees in 50 seconds.
On this day, I was mostly dreading actually starting. At this point, it had occurred to me what exactly I had committed myself to. I knew I could do them, but I still didn’t really want to do them. It was a little exciting, though. I’d never committed to a resolution like this before. I was very tired when I was done.
Day 2: 20 burpees in 68 seconds.
This day was the hardest mentally. I didn’t feel like I had the motivation to actually do the burpees. Had I not been writing this article, I may have fully stopped. By using this story to hold myself responsible, it ensured I actually had to stick to my goals.
Day 3: 25 burpees in 107 seconds.
I was actually confident going in this day. I had gotten past the second day, which I usually find to be the hardest, and so I was feeling good. I wanted to push my limits because I felt so confident. Arrogance got the best of me, and I was so tired.
Day 4: 22 burpees in 65 seconds.
I wanted to be cautious after the last day, but after the past three days, I felt like I had loosened up. I was starting to grow impatient with my results. I felt like I wasn’t improving.
Day 5: 19 burpees in 69 seconds.
I was now used to the burpees, and they were just part of my daily routine. I had also noticed just how quick my recovery time had become. It was really rewarding to actually see some change. I was starting to understand why people made resolutions.
Day 6: 21 burpees in 70 seconds.
I was starting to accept that progress isn’t linear. All we can do is our best every day. I used this day mostly to confirm that my recovery time was actually getting better. This day proved that.
Day 7: 24 burpees in 75 seconds.
I was ready to push my limits again, and unlike last time it paid off. These were tangible results, and they made me feel proud.
Supposedly, the first week is the hardest, but I’ve made it past the first week and honestly feel confident I can make it to the end of the year. In times of doubt, I’ll be able to look back at this article and see my progress. If you find yourself struggling to keep your resolutions, try to find someone or something that can keep you accountable. You could use a journal and keep a log of how you did each day. And remember that we all make mistakes, so if you miss a day, that’s perfectly alright. Just start again the next day. Every day is an opportunity for a new change. It may seem minuscule now, but if I can make small improvements in a week, what can I do in a year?