Family Resolutions
The holidays are a wonderful relaxing time for the whole family to spend time together, celebrate the past year, and look forward to the future. Often when looking forward to the new year, we set individual New Year resolutions. However, these goals tend to be hard to follow for the entire year. After about a month many often lose track of these resolutions and cannot keep them up to the same standard we intended to.
An issue with these resolutions is that they are independent. Keeping track of a busy schedule and new goals by yourself can be hard to navigate. Accountability partners have been shown to provide extra motivation and support to accomplish your goals.
Taking all of this into account, what if we did family resolutions? These could focus on quality time, kindness, acts of service, or anything specific your family sees as a need for the new year. Taking the time to sit down together and hear everyone’s thoughts on what should be included and how you can accomplish these goals together.
1. What goals or resolutions should you set? A baseline could be one for each member of the family!
2. How will you keep each other accountable? Will you do weekly check ins?
3. What is the timeline for each of the goals? Where do you want to be at this time next year?
Guiding conversation like this could help shape your expectations for these new goals. Taking time together to outline all milestones and expectations up front will provide a clear path to accomplishing each goal you set. Each milestone should serve as a step of progress for all resolutions. At each milestone you can find a different way to celebrate all progress. Something that would interest everyone and encourage the family to finish the goal – perhaps a homemade trophy, candy, or a game night!
It’ll also be important to plan what the whole family wants to do in celebration of seeing the resolutions all the way through. Something special to congratulate yourselves on all of the hard work it takes to stay consistent as a unit throughout the year! Consider a picnic at the park, dinner at your favorite restaurant, or homemade sundaes to celebrate your success. Collaborating as a family can help everyone to feel included, on track, and connected to accomplish these goals together.
We hope your family is able to set and accomplish these resolutions for 2025, teamwork makes your dreams work!
To view the winter 2025 issue of Partners magazine in its entirety, click here.
