New Year’s day is traditionally seen as a new beginning, giving us an opportunity to change bad habits or to improve our lifestyle. For example, we can aim to overcome shyness, become more assertive – ask for that raise, become more social, more tolerant of others, less judgmental, any number of choices are available to us. Perhaps New Year’s gives us the belief that at least for one day, we are able to choose the course of our lives from this day forward. I read somewhere that the average person makes one and a half New Year’s resolutions each year. The most common resolutions are losing weight, exercising more and quitting smoking. How successful these one and a half resolutions ultimately are, is anybody’s guess.
What will my New Year’s resolution be for this year? I think I’ll try choosing something that I can stick with, maybe that way I will feel better about myself at the end of the year, and I’ll feel that I really did accomplish something.
Let me see…quit smoking, no…been there done that. Losing weight? Okay let’s be realistic, am I really going to stick to a diet or exercise plan, and do I really need or want to lose weight? After all I don’t look too bad, for my age that is. Okay two down, what else? Perhaps being less frivolous with my spending. I guess I do shop more than I need to, but is this something I can live with…”not shopping.” But what about that special party? I’ll have to buy a new dress. What about my spring wardrobe? Of course I have to have new clothes, or at least a new bathing suit. Naw, that’s not a good resolution, I’d only be setting myself up for failure. Keeping with this theme, maybe I should contribute more to my RRSP, after all “they” keep telling us we haven’t saved enough for retirement. Okay maybe I can contribute monthly, but can I afford it? What about living now? What if I don’t live to retirement, then I will have deprived myself for nothing. Maybe I need to give this one a little more thought.
On the more practical side, I could resolve to finally organize my closets and kitchen cupboards, followed by a huge garage sale. That’s a plan – the money from the garage sale could go into my RRSP. Okay, I can feel the stress building already. When will I have the time to do this? I know it will take longer than one day, after all I have five closets and umpteen kitchen cupboards. I check out the calendar… no, not this week, forget February, maybe in March. It would have to be done before summer, cause that’s when camping starts. In September I plan on taking another course, so that will keep me pretty busy until Christmas. Oh well, maybe that’s not a good resolution. On to the next one.
There’s got to be something I know I can commit to doing. How about learning something new? Well I do take courses and I am already working toward my degree, could I really commit to doing more than that… I don’t think so. Okay what else… can’t think of anything.
After much thought I think I’ve finally found one I can stick to. My New Year’s resolution for 2004 will be to become a more tolerant and accepting individual, beginning with myself and my limited ability to actualize my New Year’s resolutions.
Barbara is working towards her B.A. in English. She enjoys writing in her spare time. Barbara is located in London Ontario and can be reached at barbgodin@sympatico.ca.