2010 is knocking on our door—and, as always at this time of year, the thoughts of many a flawed human turn to New Year’s resolutions.
According to this article in The Age newspaper, the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions dates back to Roman times. The word January derives from the Roman god Janus, the god of beginnings and endings. Janus had two faces; one looking forwards and one backwards. On 1 January we look back at the past year and forward to the new one. (The article didn’t mention that during most of January, the Sun is in the zodiac sign of Capricorn. Astrologers often say that people born under this sign tend to have a tendency to be ‘two-faced’. But I digress … )
Personally, I reckon that the kind of thinking that spawned the New Year’s resolution tradition is the same kind that created Santa, the tooth fairy and the 40-hour working week. How many resolutions have you made at this time of year that lasted more than a week or two? Not many, I’ll bet. So why is it that people persist in making them, year after year?
Is the ‘birth’ of a new calendar year really a chance to wipe the slate clean and start again? Are our lives so neatly packaged that we can make a few resolutions on 31 December and BINGO! all our human frailties and transgressions magically melt away the very next day? If we’re not too happy with the way things stand on 31 December, what makes us think that 1 January will be any different? Yes, human lives can be transformed in an instant, but it’s doubtful that something as arbitrary as a single point on a man-made calendar has anything to do with it.
Next, think about the kind of resolutions people often make. Lose weight, go after the dream job, save money, be nicer to the person they can’t stand, etc etc. If these things are so important, wouldn’t we already be doing them? Why procrastinate till 1 January?
For what it’s worth, my key New Year’s resolutions for 2010 are:
- to beat myself up less about work
- figure out how to reconcile hours hunched over the keyboard with my body’s need to stretch, breathe and let go
- eat less at each meal; not to lose weight, but to give my overworked digestive system a much-needed break.
Will I achieve any of these goals? Probably not. But I’ll give them a red hot go … for a couple of weeks, at least!
I’m always rather optimistic at New Year. It’s a whole new year stretching ahead that will, potentially, be filled with exciting and unexpected adventures. I liken it to a fresh notebook waiting to be filled, with no mistakes in it (yet). But you are right. I’ve often made resolutions to get fitter or eat less chocolate or some other thing that I could easily attempt at anytime of year. These days, my New Year resolutions take the form of writing goals – and these ones I usually make happen!
Happy New Year!!
Comment by Karen Graham — 31/12/2009 @ 8:23 am |
Hehe, I will be adding these three to my list too. I’ve given up drinking and am going to join Toastmasters. Scares the death out of me but I like doing scary stuff:)
Comment by Annabel Candy, Get In the Hot Spot — 05/01/2010 @ 4:44 pm |
“A fresh notebook waiting to be filled” – I like that analogy, Karen! And good on you for joining Toastmasters, Annabel. Hope the trip outside your comfort zone is worth making – or at least gives you another topic to blog about! By the way, I’ve already slipped up on my New Year’s resolution no. 3 … but then, I knew I would!
Comment by Fiona Marsden — 06/01/2010 @ 6:45 am |