Unpopular Opinion on New Year’s Resolutions: A Common-Sense Approach You Probably Haven’t Heard Before
There are two schools of thought on New Year’s resolutions: A) “time to crack the whip of self-discipline and get these goals checked off our list! Go!!!” And B) “Winter is not the time for new beginnings. Wait until Spring to get started on your goals.”
Being the Enneagram 9 that I am, I agree and disagree with both.
When I began studying the work of Rudolf Steiner (the founder of Waldorf Education, among many other things), I was struck by the deeper, more magical meaning he assigned to so much of the “common sense” wisdom I already knew. For example, why it’s really important to keep babies and young children warm.
Lately, I’ve been exploring what it means to truly live in alignment with the rhythms of nature. Steiner had quite a bit to say on this topic – he made indications on how we can celebrate feast days and holidays, manage agriculture, and even how we can approach our mundane tasks in ways that nurture our innate connection with the rhythms of life and death we see in the natural world. It’s fascinating!
What does any of this have to do with New Year’s resolutions? Well, Steiner explained that, at the time of the Winter Solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere), when the earth is quiet and still, our inner forces are most alive. This is part of the reason most holidays at this time of year are celebrations of Divine Light coming into the physical world – this is precisely when we are most ready to collectively receive it!
Conversely, at this time of the year, our outer forces wane. You have probably noticed how the Winter months draw out a more introspective, quiet side of you. In many ways, our outer forces “go to sleep” during the Winter. Science has even shown that we spend more time sleeping and dreaming in the Winter! This is Nature’s way of helping you slow down and go inside to access and nurture your inner light. By the way, the opposite rule applies — in the Summer, our outer forces are at their peak (they begin to emerge in the Spring), and our inner forces become more quiet.
So, let’s return to our question: Should we all be “cracking the whip of self-discipline” on January 1, or simply wait to do anything about our goals until Springtime? Well, even though (as far as I’m aware), Steiner didn’t offer advice for the proper observation of New Year’s resolutions, I wager to guess he wouldn’t advise either.
Since our outer forces (related to our physical strength and vitality) are sleepy at this time of year, I don’t think it makes much sense to dive head first into goals that are centered on our outer world (things like working out, major diet changes, personal appearance, redecorating or organizing our homes, career advancement, etc). You may have noticed that, in our consumerist society, most of us fall into the “New Year, New Me” marketing trap at some point, and acquire some fancy new gadget, workout equipment, diet plan, or new wardrobe item that we dream will transform our outer being into something acceptable to ourselves and everyone else. Unfortunately, directing our energy to these endeavors depletes our already weak outer forces, and neglects our blossoming inner forces. Doing this is like planting a rose bush in January. The plant most likely will die before ever blooming. Essentially, it’s a waste of time.
Doesn’t this mean we are better off leaving any new goal implementation to later in the year? I don’t think that is wise, either. We should not waste the gift of our active inner forces! Rather than investing our time and energy into worldly transformation, we can use the fertile time around the New Year to cultivate and nourish our inner forces (which, by the way, is the key to any lasting outer transformation).
Let’s work with an example. Say you have a goal of taking better care of your physical body. Maybe you feel terrible about the way you look and want to lose some body fat and gain muscle. You could spend your time and energy signing up for the latest fad diet and workout program, begin in January, and perhaps you would even make some progress. But what is likely to happen? You will quit after a month or so, if you even make it that far. Why? Perhaps because you applied your actions in opposition to the flow of nature. In addition to jumping into physical action while your outer forces were weak, you never cultivated the inner forces that are required to carry you through such a task. If you are physically depleted, you won’t have energy to maintain your efforts. Moreover, if deep down inside, you lack self compassion and self control, you are unlikely to eat and move in ways that truly care for your body, no matter how much energy you have or what exercise or diet plan you try.
Imagine that instead of beginning a physically demanding program on January 1, you spent the first 90 days of the year cultivating the inner virtues of self compassion and self control. Maybe you do this through prayer or meditation or working with a therapist. You earnestly apply yourself to this inner work. Then at the time of the Spring Equinox, you begin that exercise and diet program (and probably by then you will choose one that is actually aligned with your positive inner state, like intuitive eating and exercise). Don’t you think you would be way more likely to find lasting success?
If this all seems like common sense – it's because it is! As I mentioned earlier, many of Steiner’s teachings give a subtle, deeper meaning to what often seems like conventional wisdom. When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, the key is knowing that our inner and outer forces are influenced by the changing seasons, and understanding how to work with the dynamic between them. Winter is the time to devote ourselves to cultivating our inner forces. We do this so that when our outer forces awaken in the Spring, we will be prepared to take action towards our goals. Like a tiny seed planted in the dark soil, our inner forces hold the possibility of what we can become. If we neglect to nurture this part of ourselves, we cannot hope to make that possibility manifest in the world. Even the mighty Sun cannot summon a rose out of a dead seed.
Here are some ideas for tending to your inner light this Winter:
Devote more time to prayer and meditation
Spend time journaling
Reflect on the past year
Spend time in silence and solitude
Walk in nature and notice your surroundings
Sleep more and take notice of your dreams
Identify the inner virtues that will assist you to accomplish your goals and determine how you can grow in those virtues
Read sacred texts and books about spirituality and self development
Listen to sacred music
Study and contemplate sacred art
Would you love to go deeper? Sign up for my free worksheet, 6 Journal Prompts for Tending Your Inner Light This Winter.
That’s all for today! What do you think of this not-so-common common-sense approach? Tell me in the comments below!