Most years, New Year’s Eve arrives with a familiar ritual. Resolutions are made. Promises are declared. Jan. 1 is treated like a universal reset button, pressed at the same moment by millions of people hoping this time will be different.
And for a short while, it feels good.
My own realization came while sitting in an old newsroom, working on a story about New Year’s resolutions. Reading through everyone’s goals was inspiring. Many were thoughtful and ambitious. Some were deeply personal. But as I read, I recognized my own past declarations in those words. I had made similar promises before and couldn’t make them last a week.
That moment clarified something for me.
Most resolutions fade within weeks. Not because people lack effort, but because choosing one date as a collective turning point rarely comes with the support needed to keep going once the excitement wears off. I’ve been there. More than once.
So I stopped making resolutions. Instead, I started making changes.
Not sweeping declarations. Not grand announcements. Just small, daily alterations. I focused on improving my craft, strengthening my ability to lead those who work alongside me at The Cullman Tribune and addressing parts of myself I spent years trying to ignore or hide.
That process is not comfortable.
Pulling off emotional bandages stings. Sometimes it hurts badly. But the pain is temporary. And unlike covering a wound again and again, removing what hides it allows real healing to begin. Over time, the wound doesn’t just look better. It becomes stronger.
That is what I’ve been working toward over the past year or so. Daily healing. Small progress. Not perfection. Not a checklist. Just forward movement.
This approach allows growth as a whole, not the cherry picking of one or two areas just to satisfy outside expectations. I am not responsible for anyone else’s emotions, but I do take them into account while doing the harder internal work, especially in places that have been mentally welded shut for years.
I am grateful for those small changes. And I genuinely admire the people who can make a big declaration each year and follow through. That discipline deserves respect.
But for me, real growth doesn’t come from doing what society says should be fixed.
It comes from working on what you know needs attention.
So as 2026 approaches, I won’t be making a resolution. I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing. Making adjustments. Learning. Healing. Improving a little at a time.
Not on one special day. But every day.
