Happy New Year! I resolve to…

…write about New Years resolutions

A friend recently asked, with the New Year approaching, if I would consider writing about New Years resolutions. I had not actually planned to do so, but the idea started nagging at me, so I decided to give it a go. Part of the reason I had no desire to write about New Years resolutions is that I don’t make any. Frankly, I don’t ever even think about them. If I had to guess (yes, this is guessing - don’t go look up the statistics, unless you’re really that interested), I’d say 50% of people who do make New Years resolutions have failed or given up on them by January 14, another 25% have forgotten about them by January 31, and another 20% have forgotten about them or given up on them by February 28. There are few people who make New Years resolutions who actually stick to them. This begs the question: why make them to begin with?

I understand setting goals; they help provide focus to move us forward in life, to accomplish the things we want to accomplish. Why New Years resolutions? Why is January 1 the time to start working toward a goal? What makes January 1 any different than any other day of the year, other than it is the day we count as the first day of the year? The Gregorian Calendar (the solar calendar by which most of the world reckons dates) was not even introduced until 1582, at which time, for much of the world, it replaced the Julian Calendar (introduced under Julius Caesar in 45 BCE to replace the Roman lunar calendar). Some cultures still use, at least for specific purposes, a lunar calendar and recon the new year as starting on a day other than January 1. Even the Gregorian Calendar, due to its inability to precisely track the true length of time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun, has to have a leap day ever four years. All this to say, the day which is designated as the start of the year is rather arbitrary; therefore, pledging to oneself to begin striving for a goal beginning on January 1 is just as arbitrary, and no more logical than doing so on any other day of the year.

I understand, many people view the New Year as a time of new beginnings, and this is why they introduce for themselves new goals. If those goals, however, are quickly forgotten, what is the point? Goals are worth setting, but only if you truly aspire to reach them. This is not the case with most people’s New Years resolutions; thus, they quickly fail and are forgotten or set aside. How often, or for how long, after New Years do you hear friends talk about their resolutions? I can’t say that I hear it at all, because I don’t know many people (if any) who do make them. The only time I typically hear anyone speak of them, if at all, is perhaps the last two weeks of December, then maybe a week into January.

In light of this, it seems logical to conclude that New Years resolutions are generally made in haste. These are goals that people don’t really think about setting in motion until the New Year is upon them. Then suddenly, there is an urgency to do something - after all, the Earth has just made another pass around the Sun, and I still haven’t lost that weight, or saved that money, or fixed up the house, or <fill in the blank>. Now I set a specific goal to do it, and…I’m not going to. “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 29:20). In my opinion, New Years resolutions are foolishness.

We could go even further. Jesus said:

“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘ YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil. - Matthew 5:33-37

If we take New Years resolutions as oaths, even to ourselves, it could well be considered evil. I don’t necessarily consider them so, but I do believe they are capricious at best and foolish at worst. Instead of New Years resolutions, making hasty decisions because of the arbitrary day we set for marking the beginning of the Earth’s path around that great star in the sky, set goals that matter when they make sense. Don’t be bound to a particular day to begin striving to achieve a desired accomplishment. If your goal is to lose weight, start today. Set a realistic goal for the weight you’d like to lose, set a realistic timeline, put together a plan of exercise and healthy eating, and get to work. Get help if you need help with any part of the plan. Tell a friend and get that friend to motivate you and hold you accountable. If today (January 1) is the day to start, then so be it. Just don’t make it a so-called “New Years resolution” that you are going to look back on and punish yourself for failing to keep, or worse, end up giving up and going the opposite direction.

So, set aside the idea of a New Years resolution. Whenever you are ready, whenever you have a goal, that is the time to set it and strive for it. Don’t wait for the 1st of the year just because it is a tradition, or because it seems like a good time to start. The best time to start is now, whenever now happens to be at the time you decide you want to reach an objective. Save December 31 and January 1 for celebration instead. May you have a very happy and blessed New Year!