The only resolution I will make this year.
by Amy Ferguson
I only make one resolution. I've made it for a few years now, pardon the pun. It is very small and seemingly insignificant, but it means a great deal to me.
My one and only New Year's Resolution is to make my bed.
I make my bed every day. It is a small, insignificant act. Oftentimes it is done on auto pilot, instantly forgotten until I return home later that day. Sometimes I do it consciously, the last thing I do in a mad dash before I leave the house. Some days my bed is picture perfect. Other times it looks a little scruffy. On occasion, it is a chore I labour over, cursing myself and rolling my eyes inwardly as I fix the sheets, pull up the duvet and smooth everything over. However, it is always made.
This household task can be seen as trivial, maybe even pointless to some. We make our beds every day only to return home later to unmake them, pull the duvet over our heads and invite sleep in. It is a task not seen by anyone but yourself, or perhaps your partner. No one is going to give you a standing ovation or a promotion for completing such a trivial task. It is simply another item to add to the to do list - and sometimes not make it to the done list.
Why is making my bed a New Year's Resolution?
I could switch it up - promising to go to the gym five times a week or cut out chocolate or run a marathon or learn a new language... the list goes on and on. It's easy to fall into the trap of unattainable goals - believe me, I've been there. It comes to the end of January and we berate ourselves for not completing our New Year To Do List. "See? I knew you couldn't do it." we say to ourselves. We inwardly slump, wait until January 1st rolls around and do the same thing over and over and over again.
Making my bed is a small promise I make to myself every day. It is seemingly insignificant, easy to keep and equally easy to break. It is a little gift I give myself after a long, hard day at work. No matter how I feel, no matter how bad the day gets, my bed will always be made. It is my past self giving my future self a hug and saying "Don't worry. You've got this and I've got you."
On May 17 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas. In this inspiring speech, McRaven discussed the small things we can do to incrementally transform our lives.
Brailsford was convinced of the merits of a concept that he referred to as the ‘marginal gains’, positing it as a ‘1% margin for improvement in everything you do’. He knew the small stuff soon adds up to become the big stuff.
So I will make my bed. For the unremarkable must happen for the remarkable to be possible.
Sources
Group, M.D. (2022). The Magic Of Marginal Gains Theory | Sweat The Small Stuff | MDG. [online] Mindset Development Group. Available at: https://www.mindsetdevgroup.com/blog/marginal-gains-theory/.
Amazon.com. (2019). Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World: William H. McRaven: 9781455570249: Amazon.com: Books. [online] Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Bed-Little-Things/dp/1455570249.