Preparing to stand on the edge of a brand new year is somewhat irresistible to every-day people. As January 1st approaches we can’t help but look back at the previous year and assess or muse; sometimes we discuss it with others, but more often not. Analysis of the past year quickly gives way to a look at the year ahead.
We make New Year’s Resolutions because of the entire year ahead. The months, seasons, and holidays seem to stretch out before us forever and we easily imagine the possibilities. We are more likely to set our sites on new resolutions or goals when we seem to have an endless supply of days in which to accomplish them.
We make New Year’s Resolutions because inspiration lives in the symbolism and freshness of the first day.
The idea that we might miss out on something everyone else is benefiting from is enough to get us to participate in any number of “opportunities”. There is benefit to having a specific time of the year when making resolutions is normal; we can talk about them with friends and family (see yesterday’s Blog), but the down side comes from bringing out our “me too” tendency.
When we “join in” because it seems like the thing to do, we miss out on the benefit of real commitment. A friend of mine explained to me that one of the best ways to move a human being from simply being comfortable to getting something done is to secure their commitment.
When we make a New Year’s Resolution (NYR), chances are it will take us out of our comfort zone for some period of time, which requires a firm and solid commitment. Coming up with your NYR while out partying with a group of friends won’t feel like an actual commitment. We say it, we don’t really mean it, and 10 to 30 day’s later we can’t even remember what it was.
We might make New Year’s Resolutions so we don’t feel left out, but this contributes the NYR mortality rate.
One reason we make New Year’s Resolutions (NYR’s) is because it is the one time of year its considered normal, expected even, to share our personal growth or “greater good” goals with other people.
Not only are we encouraged to make NYR’s, but it’s the only time of year that we are regularly invited to talk about them. When we hit the middle of July, who in your circle of friends or family is asking about your goals for the upcoming fall season?
The idea that we are able to openly talk about these things hits a compelling nerve. Do you have goals you are proud of and have even the slightest chance of achieving? That’s just begging for a conversation with anyone who might be willing to listen.
We make them because we can . . . . . share them.
Why do we make New Year’s Resolutions??
When I wonder why we do what we do, my first instinct tells me to look at history.
From www.heb.com/mealtime/celeb-newYearTraditions.jsp
I learned the following:
New year’s resolutions. The ancient Babylonians began the idea of New Year’s resolutions as a way to start the year off with a clean slate by returning borrowed items.
Then from:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/39353
I learned this:
The tradition of the New Year’s Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.
A clean slate?? Forgiveness of our enemies?? It’s amazing how much hasn’t changed in over 2000 years.
Before we examine the multitude of reasons why we make New Year’s Resolutions in 2009, take a few minutes and look at the sources of historical information about this unique tradition.
Welcome to the first in a series of weblogs about making and keeping our New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve been tracking a few of the articles and blogs on this topic and two questions are showing up repeatedly: Why do we make them? Why do we fail to keep them?
These are basically the questions I will take on over the next 28 days.
My personal experience with this over the last, say, 30 years or so indicates many of us do not take the whole New Year’s Resolution (NYR) thing very seriously. A glib commitment can become more detrimental than no commitment at all.
Keeping our resolutions is more complicated. The reasons we don’t keep them are numerous and full of nuance; I’ll begin with one that comes from Leif Enger and “Peace Like a River” when Reuban makes the profound statement, “ . . worry died, as usual, at the hands of routine.” Most of our NYR’s also meet their demise at the hands of routine.
There’s a lot to explore and I’ll work to provide useful nuggets that lend themselves to your exploitation. Since this is my weblog I can shamelessly promote my solutions on our website.
www.thebackplace.com, click on Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions.
