Yearly Themes Instead of Resolutions 

Earlier last month, RAFT team member Maegan said, “BOO to a new year, and new you” (you can read that post here), which inspired me to write this post about my own new year’s practice: following a yearly theme. 

What is a yearly theme?

The problem I have with New Year’s resolutions is that they are way too specific, which makes them far too easy to fail at, which leads to me feeling shame around not achieving the resolution, which goes against the whole concept of doing something to improve my life.  

A yearly theme solves this “too specific” problem and helps eliminate the shame you can feel when you don't achieve the new year's promise you made to yourself. 

I was introduced to the idea of having a yearly theme by CGP Grey and Myke Hurley. You can watch their excellent video about yearly themes and how to use them here. You can also learn more about the theme journal system at their website here (they also show you how to use the theme system with any journal; you don't need to buy theirs.) 

"Briefly, the video does a great job of explaining the theme concept: A yearly theme is a broad concept you create to guide you in an ever-changing trip toward the change you want to make in your life.  For example," the year of health," the year of laughing," or"the year of learning.” "Briefly, the video does a great job of explaining the theme concept: A yearly theme is a broad concept you create to guide you in an ever-changing trip toward the change you want to make in your life.  For example, “the year of health,” “the year of laughing,” or “the year of learning.” 

The great part of a theme is that it maps out an approximate direction you want to head in, but it doesn't tell you exactly how you will get there. It allows you to adapt and change during all the bumps you experience in the year while still succeeding in moving forward in the desired direction. 

"The year of learning" could mean learning a new language, how to play guitar, a new position at work, or all of the above. As the year progresses, one of those outcomes might not happen, but you haven't failed because you achieved different outcomes that fulfilled your "year of learning.” "The year of learning” could mean learning a new language, how to play guitar, a new position at work, or all of the above. As the year progresses, one of those outcomes might not happen, but you haven’t failed because you managed to achieve different outcomes that fulfilled your “year of learning” 

How to create your theme and ideal outcomes 

You can learn more about creating your 2024 theme and ideal outcomes here, but to get started, all you really need is the theme template page from the website: 

Quick Yearly Theme Instructions (with my 2024 examples in parenthesis) 

"1. Write" Year of…" and insert your word or phrase. "Year of making good better”) "1. Write “Year of….” and insert your word or phrase. (“Year of making good better”) 

2. Write a description of your theme. ( Things are good in my life, but I don't want to be stuck at good. I would like to make my life exceptional.) 

3. Write some broad ideal outcomes that would help you know you are achieving your theme. (Spend quality time with Fionn, more connected family time, improve finances, improve health, write more) 

Yearly Theme: My 2023 theme example 

For 2023, my yearly theme was "The year of deepening relationships" (your theme doesn't need to be a single word). Post-COVID, I realized that my relationships with my friends, family, and myself weren't really where I wanted them to be, so that was my change focus for the year. 

"For my theme description, I wrote: COVID-19 and the years after resulted in less time in the world and focusing on only a few relationships. I want to know people better and meet more people”. "For my theme description, I wrote: COVID-19 and the years after resulted in less time in the world and focusing on only a few relationships. I want to know people better and meet more people”. 

I then listed some ideal outcomes, which gave me a lot of room to succeed at them because they were broad. Here are some examples: 

More time with Ashlea (my wife) as a couple: my son turned 16 in 2023 and has started doing more things independently, which has given Ashlea and me a lot of time to practice being "empty nesters". At the start of the year, I had no idea we would have this time together. However, my outcome wasn't specific, like "have one date night a week," so our new time together made the outcome successful even though it wasn't what I had imagined at the start of the year. 

Continue time with current friends: Throughout the year, I spent more time playing online games with friends in my old hometown, biking and skiing with local friends, and having more people over to our house for dinners. I didn't give myself specific requirements for what I did with my friends, so achieving this outcome had many different options. 

Journal and get to know me: I was a bit worried that "journal" was a bit too specific of an outcome when I wrote this one down, but in the end, it proved to be general enough. Instead of keeping a traditional journal (which didn't work), I purchased a five-year journal, which allowed me to write short entries every day that I will get to reflect on every day for the next five years as I continue to use the journal. 

Find something to do with Fionn: this outcome didn't happen. My son Fionn is 16 and starting to find his own way in the world, which means more time on his own and with friends and less time with Mom and Dad. I wanted to find something specific Fionn and I could do together, like we did when he was younger, to ensure we continue connecting. In the end, we tried many different things, but none of them really stuck, and we agreed to keep trying in 2024. 

By the end of 2023, I achieved 3 out of 4 outcomes, which was still a successful year of living my theme and making changes in my life. The broadness of my yearly theme and the ideal outcomes I created with my theme led to a feeling of accomplishment after 365 days, not a feeling of failure after a few months of trying to achieve a specific resolution. 

Get started now  

That's all you need to know to get started with your own yearly theme. A few things to remember: 

1. Keep your theme broad and use it as a guide throughout the year to head in a general direction. 

2. Keep your ideal outcomes broad so you can achieve them in multiple ways or achieve them just a little bit, but they are still successful. 

3. Change or add ideal outcomes as the year progresses. Make your theme and the ideal outcomes work for you. 

4. Have fun with your theme!