by Autumn Laws
According to the USA.gov website, the most popular New Year’s Resolutions for Americans include losing weight, volunteering to help others, quitting smoking, saving money, and making more environmentally sustainable decisions.
While I have no idea (and no interest to know, if I’m speaking honestly) how this data was gathered, I can say that with my limited experience with New Year’s Resolutions, most of these personal endeavors have stood to be the most popular. None of these goals are bad ideas—hell, I’d go as far to say that these resolutions are generally “good.” But that’s not the bone I have to pick with these end-of-the-year propositions.
The real problem I have with these cookie-cutter resolutions is how “good” they really are. I think people are using the champagne-soaked ringing in of the New Year as an excuse to start changing their lives for the better. While there is nothing wrong with a bit of healthy change to the monotony of upper-middle class life, waiting until the icy (or occasionally warm and sunny, if we’re talking about Ohio climate) first of the year to execute this change seems like a cop-out.
These changes are ones that we (notice, I did not say “you”, not “I”, but “WE”) should be making all through the year. If being healthy, trying to save the environment, and helping others is so universally accepted as “good,” then why should they only be striven toward from the beginning of the year into the first few weeks of February? (Because, let’s face it: so many resolutions fall flat on their faces once the first promises of Spring appear… but that’s an entirely different issue I won’t be addressing in this article.)
Be healthy all year. Make sustainable decisions all year. Help others. All. Year. Don’t wait until the night before the first and drunkenly (those who are of legal drinking age, of course!) promise to yourself and friends that “this’ll be it—this’ll be the year things change and I finally (insert generic New Year’s Resolution here).”
Hope for that all year. We should set goals for ourselves to meet on March 3rd, or September 25th, or Arbor Day. Or whenever we feel like we need to change. Stagnancy is dangerous, so waiting until the New Year to make a change can perpetuate that stagnant behavior.
Now, for those of you who like a good challenge (because I certainly do), this doesn’t mean you need to completely throw out the idea of a New Year’s Resolution. I mean, the New Year only comes around annually, so doing something unique for it is quite a romantic idea. But it may be better to make more of a fun resolution. A promise that is totally appropriate to wait until the first of the year to make. Maybe learn how to juggle, or get the hang of a really impressive magic trick, or muster the courage to get your bikini line waxed. The possibilities are endless.
Moral of the story: be original with your New Year’s Resolution. If there’s something that you truly think you need to change about yourself, then change it when you find it becoming a problem. There’s no reason to wait, really. Use the concept of promising yourself a change at the start of the New Year as a time to learn some silly party trick or an excuse to give your pubic region some special (and I’m sure well-deserved) attention.
alaws@capital.edu
