Fleas and New Years Resolutions
I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions this year.
I got goals, I guess. But they’re all kinda pre-defined. I want to get my little business off the ground, I wanna graduate. I’d love to fix my character flaws that prevent me from feeling like I’m worth dating.
(I guess those aren’t really goals, are they. Wanting something isn’t a goal, something about it being just a dream til you write down a plan? Anyway. My point stands that I didn’t make any resolutions.)
If I *were* to make resolutions, they would probably look something like this:
- Attend the temple.
- Graduate in 2 semesters without failing any classes.
- Reach ROI with Advent Rings.
- Get six-pack abs.
- Learn to shred the bass.
And I could develop detailed little plans to achieve each goal, complete with spreadsheets for tracking success, milestones and mini-goals, the whole shebang.
And it would last about 2 weeks.
I heard an interesting story about fleas today.
You take a bunch of fleas, put them in a jar. You’ll need to get a lid on it quick, because fleas can jump like a thousand times their height and they’re gonna be bouncing out of the jar like little caffeinated maniacs. Leave the lid on the jar for 3 days. After smashing their literally flea-brained heads into the ceiling for 72 hours, they learn to jump below the ceiling created by the lid. (Also: flea-brained. What an insult. Wanna work that one into a conversation)
The kicker of the story is what happens when you remove the lid. Even without a ceiling trapping them, the freed fleas never attempt to jump out of the jar. They’ve knocked their brain buckets enough times against the glass ceiling that they no longer even try.
Ken Saladin thinks this experiment is fake. It probably is.
Even so, I feel like one of these hypothetical little fleas. I’ve made too many goals. Gone after them with everything I got. And failed, 2-6 weeks later. Every time. Sometimes I think it’s just easier to jump a little below that ceiling, where I know I’m safe.
Don’t get me wrong, making a goal for 2 weeks and then stopping is better than not trying at all. I’m in better overall shape because every couple months I commit to an intense workout plan, then usually only stick to it for 2-6 weeks. Better that I chase down goals falteringly than just say “Yeah I won’t do it forever so I won’t do it at all”
I feel like someone could make an ism about that.
Goals are good. Resolutions are good. I am terrified of making a resolution for an entire year. I feel like I don’t need a calendar starting line to set goals, and frankly I don’t think I can keep them long enough to merit one.
I wonder when someone will take this lid off.
