Anti-Resolutions?

At the start of each year, I'm always asked if I have a New Year's resolution. Often, I deny that I do; meanwhile, a voice inside my head screams several suggestions about my various shortcomings and flaws that should really be addressed. So secretly I make a few resolutions...and you know what happens by mid-February: instead the flavor of chocolate from a heart-shaped box, I have the taste of failure sprinkled with guilt in my mouth.
One would think that I would simply refuse to consider any self-improvement around the month of January, but the catch is there are things that I desperately want to do (or at least believe that I desperately want to do) within the next year. New Year's is built into our culture and provides us with a delineation of old and new. We are encouraged to reflect on the past year and welcome in the new year with hope that it will be better. Resolutions are then made with the hope that we too will be better than we were last year.
I'm all for hope and I'm certainly for being a better person. It's the "breaking" of the resolutions and the resulting emotions I'm against.So this year I had a different idea based on the Zen idea of mindfulness. Every month will be given a theme for me to explore and I will observe how I feel and what I learn as I go. No judgment allowed - only mindful observation.
This is going to be very difficult because I will have to grow the new neural pathways in order to change, "Crap, I just ate a pint of ice cream! Bad, bad, bad!" into "Oh, I ate a pint of ice cream. I don't feel good about it, but I think it probably happened because I was still hungry after dinner. I should be able to prevent this behavior by eating more filling healthy foods during dinner and then controlling my portion of goodies."
I have several ideas for monthly themes, but will not be making final decisions until the last day of January - because January, I have already decided, is the Month of Mindfulness.
Stay tuned!