Tis customary to announce to all who can hear one’s New Year’s resolutions. I see this as a two-fold tactic. The first that comes to mind is stating a resolution out loud gives it more gravitas. Perhaps we are hoping that if enough people know about them, we somehow feel they will hold us responsible.
This is an interesting thought for as surely as you fail at the noble yet impossible resolutions you set, they are just as likely to drop the ball also. So, does stating this publicly really get you any where? It hasn’t yet but a girl can dream.
The second component to the public confession of resolutions is pure, unadulterated hubris … vanity at it’s finest. We set ourselves up to appear so saintly, so pure as to even think of things we shall become that it never occurs to us to ponder where we are coming from and how long it took us to get in the mess we are in.
Really, New Year’s Resolutions are basically confessions of a previous life that needs to be re-done. If we are indeed so damaged that we need to rectify bad habits, why are we proclaiming this to all we know?
And yet, every year most of the population sets out possible and impossible tasks to change in the coming year.
Common ones are dieting, getting more exercise, stop smoking, lighten up on drinking, and so on and so on. I, myself, have set out to take life a little slower and enjoy the ride. I think I can accomplish this one, although life with Itty Bitty and the Boss Baby is a roller coaster of activities. But, I’m learning I don’t have to fill every hour of every day to prove something to someone who doesn’t really exist. Sometimes just being alone with one’s own thoughts is enough.
So to all of those who set themselves up for positive change this next year, I raise my glass. To those of you who choose to skip this tradition, I understand. And to those of you who surely will fail by the end of January, I empathize. We should probably form a club.
My favorite resolution is one my work mate mentioned – and I quote, “I’m not making any resolutions this year. No one likes a skinny, sober bitch.” Priceless and probably pertains to half the population out there.
magicalmess 