How can you ensure you don’t break your New Year’s resolutions? Simple – don’t make any. 

Metaphysically-speaking, when you break a promise, to yourself or someone else, it isn’t a good thing. 

Master of Yoga Dr. George King wrote a poem entitled ‘The New Morning‘. This is about the popular ritual of making New Year’s resolutions. 

In an address explaining this poem, Dr. King said:

“It’s like the promises which are made especially on New Year—made probably with the best intentions in the world, and yet they become just canting specters. Something which doesn’t really exist and yet which makes an awful lot of noise, like a specter, or a noisy ghost, but nothing tangible. A promise which has been given out, is maybe even repeated many, many times, but is not made tangible—not given life by living to it. And I think we should be careful of this. 

Not only are we contravening an occult law by giving a declaration to do this or do that, or change in this way; but we are breaking down the whole of our character by making a promise to do this, do that or do the other—whatever it may be—and not living up to it in anyway. 

We are letting ourselves down, rather than other people. And if we let ourselves down we will let other people down as well.”

Nobody wants to break promises. It doesn’t feel good to let anyone down, especially yourself. 

So this year, consider carefully before you make a New Year’s resolution. If you do make a resolution, be absolutely 100% certain that you will follow through on it so you don’t let yourself down by falling short.

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Like many people, I used to make New Year’s resolutions – I’m going to get really fit, I’m going to up my spiritual practices, etc. 

In all honesty though, I can’t remember ever fully achieving a New Year’s resolution. 

And it never felt good when I didn’t live up to them. I think I just never took them that seriously because they were mainly done for the sake of it.

But when I switched to making spiritual goals for the right reasons – because I felt inspired to do so – I found they were a lot more achievable, almost as though the pressure was off. 

For example, I made a small goal of saying one short prayer in addition to my spiritual practices each day. Then when I met that goal and it became a habit, I could add onto it. 

I don’t only set these goals around the new year. I set them as and when I feel inspired to do so. 

What are your spiritual goals?