All those gyms out there are chomping at the bit to sign you up without concern if you’ll actually use their facilities. Ah, yes … getting healthier is probably the most cliché New Year’s resolution you could imagine. This one is likely a universal one; promises to our ourselves that we’ll improve, eat right, meditate, and possibly try an exotic vegetable. We do this all while noshing on our kids’ leftover candy from the holidays. “Almond Joy’s got nuts”… nuts are healthy, right?

Then you have the one-off resolutions. I’ve noticed depending on the age, the resolutions shed insight into our growth and wisdom. I’ve been thinking back to my own New Year’s resolution history. The timeline is telling …

6 years old: “Mom, what does resolution mean?” Then after mom explained, I scampered off to more exciting endeavors like examining that tiny gnat flying around the living room. I named him Buzzy.

13 years old: This was a time where I KNEW what was important. I needed a critter. Maybe a hamster or ferret … maybe even a rat or gerbil. I kept it smart and the request small—in a house with resident cats and the knowledge that a dog would NEVER grace my house, this was the appropriate target. At the time, my tenacity dictated that it WILL HAPPEN. I broke my mom down after six months of relentless pleas.

16 years old: This year consisted of a true resolution in my mind—to get a boyfriend. I had priorities and this topped them. Ultimately, I did nothing for this one besides hang out with friends. Eventually, I wound up dating a boy who was part of the friend group. We lasted one full month.

25 years old: A practical year. I vowed to lead a successful career and start a family. I trudged through the year just moving forward day by day. I hadn’t thought about if I was actually achieving my goal. This resolution lasted longer than a year. My daughter graced us five years later.

43 years old: This year. The focus will be on overall well-being. I’m not talking about specifically going to a gym or counting my carrot consumption. I’m focusing on a reset. It’s time to step back, look at myself and my life from a third person point of view. Our lives are plopped before us, a messy ball of slimy clay waiting to be formed. I’m taking all the building tools of years’ past to mold 2022 and beyond. I’ll sculpt it to match what I’m harboring inside. It’s time to pursue NOW and stop wasting away with ‘what-ifs’ and ’should-have-beens’. I’m in control and I’m driving this ride.

My New Year’s resolutions never followed a conventional path. But how many people have ones that really do? If you think about it, all they really mean is that you’re making promises to yourself. Maybe this year’s is beyond just me. It’s all over the news if you listen. Maybe it’s time for a great reset. I know I’m ready and this one I WILL keep.