New Year’s Resolution

During the first week of every year, my Australian friends and colleagues (this seems to extend to most Western cultures) ask me what my New Year’s Resolutions are. I’ve never made any. It seems odd to me to wait until a specific day of the year to make a change in my life. If I need to change something, I start immediately. If I set a goal, I begin working towards it immediately. But then, this tradition seems to be more about Tradition than any real attempt to improve life. The notable point of resolutions made at New Year is that they are generally broken within the first month. A person unfamiliar with the tradition may assume that the changes are simply too big to be maintained, but in fact they’re too small. Resolutions are usually about breaking or creating habits – giving up smoking, starting an exercise regime, being nice to your sister.

I don’t smoke. I only have a couple of glasses of whiskey in a month. I eat well. I’ve finished my studies. I’ve had no need for resolutions, especially ones that I might break, but I wanted to join the tradition this year. After much thought, I hit upon the perfect resolution. I’d commit to writing at least one blog post EVERY week, no exceptions. The beauty is that I’ve broken that resolution already.

1 comment

  1. There’s more value to this tradition than the actual resolutions themselves. It’s a time for people to actually think on their lives, and what they can do to improve it.

    Sure, for some people, they don’t need a tradition to spark this introspection. Others do, though. Anyone who falls into habit and routine, without any change to shake up their lives, can certainly benefit from this tradition.

    Plus, as you’ve seen, it can be fun to try. Nice resolution, btw. Mine is to avoid any unnecessary acronyms and text speak.

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