28 Dec The Cartwheel Effect: Playful Resolutions
There is a heartwarming scene in an episode of the television series The Office. The staff at the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company are asked to post their New Year’s resolutions on a large board. Many of the employees’ resolutions are the types we all tend to make—drink less caffeine, floss every day, become more fit, or cut down on an unhealthy behavior.
One of the characters, however, has a unique resolution. Creed, the office’s quality assurance manager, tells the group bashfully, “I want to do a cartwheel. But real casual-like. Not make a big deal about it…One stunning, gorgeous cartwheel.”
He goes on to do one perfectly awful cartwheel, exclaiming as he stands up, “I did it!” There is such sincerity and joy in his face as he basks in the glory of his accomplishment.
The show is a comedy, but the message in this scene is poignant.
People struggle with New Year’s resolutions. By February 1st, only 20% of us are sticking with the resolutions we set just a few short weeks before.
But what if, instead of a disciplined quest for self-improvement, we took the opportunity marked by this new year to do something fun, like learning to do a cartwheel? Even if it is perfectly imperfect.
The girls and I were discussing this idea while snacking on leftover Christmas cookies and laughing at the enjoyable things we might do in the year ahead. Here are a few resolutions we thought it might be fun to try this next year:
o Pasta Project: Eat as many different shapes of pasta as possible over the next year. Keep a running list of all that you’ve tried.
o Hiccup Counting: Record how many times you get the hiccups over the year as a fun random fact to share about yourself (I’m fond of this one as a go-to icebreaker response for work meetings).
o Fruit Adventure: Anytime you see a fruit you haven’t eaten before, try it after reading a little bit about it online. Take a picture of you trying each kind of fruit while giving a thumbs up or down to find out how many new fruits you tried and enjoyed over the year.
o Movies A-Z: Pick (with the help of recommendations from friends and family) a movie to watch that begins with every letter of the alphabet.
o Tourist in Your Own Town: Every month, visit one new spot you’ve never been before (e.g., a park, museum, library, coffee shop) in the place where you live.
When we decide to purposefully set an intention to explore new fun things to do, we begin the new year leaping toward things that make us feel alive. We could certainly do fun challenges like this anytime, but there’s good science around the idea that dates like January 1st give us a boost in motivation to shift toward new beginnings. And coupling something we enjoy with the mindset shift of a new beginning is a powerful way to increase the likelihood of success.
What’s an enjoyable New Year’s resolution you might want to try this year?