It’s tradition to make one or more resolutions this time of year. The idea is to start the year fresh, to become a better version of yourself. Maybe to add a new habit or break an old habit that will improve your physical or mental health.
I’ve never been a New Year’s resolution person. I just make or break habits throughout the year when it seemed appropriate. I quit smoking in 1982 when my husband signed us up for a Smoke Ender’s class. I lost weight when I signed up for Weight Watcher’s - three times. I started running regularly after I read Jim Fixx’s The Complete Book of Running.
However, in 2015 I read an article that inspired me to resolve to try something new every week. It started out well. But like many resolutions it fizzled. It was hard finding something new each week. Especially living in a distant suburb of Chicago. I thought I’d have a better chance if I lived in New York, London or Paris. Easier still if I moved to Tokyo, Budapest, or Mumbai. There would be lots of new things to try in those cities. But I digress.
In my efforts to fulfill the ‘something new each week’ resolution, I’d count little efforts as trying something new. Eating something new seemed like a way to fulfill the resolution. One week I tried pulled barbecued jackfruit. Another week I ate grilled Chayote squash. Both were delicious. But should I count making a new recipe as doing something new? I usually try several new recipes a year, so would I really be doing something new? Maybe if I tried a new cooking technique. Should I count going to a different museum as trying something new? Even if it’s a unusual museum like the homing pigeon museum in Oklahoma City or the Salt museum in Syracuse, NY? And what if the museum is closed when I attempt to visit? Does the effort count? While my attempts to do something new each week gradually fizzled, I did continue to seek new things throughout the year.
Some resolutions require you to do something every day. I usually fail at these. In 1990 I had an implied resolution that I would learn a new word every day because I bought one of those word-a-day calendars. It seemed simple enough. To see the new date you pulled yesterday’s date off and read the new word. By February I wasn’t keeping up. Several days would pass without my revealing that day’s new word. In March, I was pulling several days off at a time and stuffing them in a folder. By June I gave up. On a snow day in December, I fulfilled my obligation by ripping that past three months of days off the calendar. I already knew most of the words anyway.
I googled “why we make New Year’s Resolutions.” Page after page of articles written by respected journals: Forbes, Scientific American, Psychology Today, Mad Magazine. They all tell me how important it is to make resolutions. Even if we break them. It’s the intention to better ourselves. It promotes optimism. (1) Now I feel like a failure because I don’t make resolutions.
If I decide to make resolutions this year, what would they be? I googled New Year’s resolutions.(2) Top on the list was lose weight. Should I take ff those pesky 8 pounds I’ve put on? They don’t look that bad and my clothes still fit If I don’t button the pants button. Hum. Let me think about it.
A lot of the ideas seem to be for younger people:
#2 - Work out to feel good, not be thinner. I gave up on exercising to be thinner in my late 30s when I lost only four pounds after running over 1,000 miles to train for a marathon. Paraphrasing esteemed philosopher Rocket J. Squirrel (Rocky and Bullwinkle), “that idea never works.”
#16 - Put part of your Paycheck in savings or investments. What paycheck?
#26 - Be kind on social media. Many of my generation don’t even use social media and if we do, we are the grandmothers of social media – always complimenting people on their posts.
I found a couple of resolutions I could do: #8 - Go some place you’ve never been and #29 - Try a totally new restaurant. I can combine them. This week, a clerk we met said he was quitting his job and rejoining his parents at their restaurant Mediterrano. I’ve always wanted to try Mediterrano. So we'll visit him there.
Later that week I found the perfect resolution. On Monday I stood in line at the post office for 45 minutes to mail a Canadian Christmas card and here it is Friday (Dec 23) and I still don’t have all my cards written. Next year maybe I’ll write the cards before Thanksgiving or I’ll do like my good friend does - stop sending cards. The latter is not a bad idea, it saves a lot of money, time, and resources.
So, after eight years of no resolutions, I have two resolutions for 2023: Visit Mediterrano and do something different for 2023 Christmas Cards.
What do you resolve for 2023? Whether or not you make resolutions, Happy New Year!
References
Tracey Bower, MD, Four Reasons to Make New Year’s Resolutions Even if You Don’t Keep Them, Forbes
Megan Grant, Let's Kick off the New Year Right—Here Are 55 New Year's Resolution Ideas for 2023, Parade, Dec 14, 2022.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Dave. Love reading your blog!
My resolution for 2023 is to make it to 2024!