It’s that time of year again. The time of year when everyone wants to start fresh and make changes for the better in their lives … and what better time to do so than the first of the year?
The supposed origin of the New Year’s resolution dates back to 153 B.C. when Janus, a mythical king in early Rome, was put at the beginning of the calendar year.
He was given two faces, one looking in the direction of the past and one looking in the direction of the future. Looking back was to appreciate the good things of the year and looking forward was to plan on success for the coming days.
Wherever the origin of New Year’s resolutions, the first day of the year seems like a logical day to plan for new beginnings. But, let’s be honest: If you are putting off some serious change that you know needs to be made for the first of the year, what’s the chances of that actually happening?
For instance, let’s say your resolution is to lose weight. Well, if everyday leading up to New Year’s you are enjoying, in excessive amounts, every last bite of foods that you are planning on giving up, it’s probably not a good start.
Maybe you’re trying to quit smoking. Why would you smoke extra leading up to the day when you are planning on quitting, only making it harder to stop on the day you planned?
The good thing is that at least it’s wishful thinking, right? Come on, how many people actually follow through with their New Year’s resolutions? Most people make unreasonable or unrealistic resolutions, or they only follow through for a week or two.
Seriously people, if you want to lose some weight, stop eating fast food everyday and maybe get your butt off the couch and go to the gym every once in a while. Why wait till a certain day to do it?
Now, let’s say your resolution is to get a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Well, if you’re waiting for a specific day to start looking for that significant other, you may have a long road ahead of you, but best of luck.
Maybe New Year’s resolutions should be small steps toward bettering ourselves; because let’s face it, if we’re putting off big changes that should have been made a long time ago until the first of the year, chances are that it won’t go through as planned. More power to you if you can, it just doesn’t seem logical.
So with the New Year already in full swing, perhaps taking baby steps toward that goal that never seemed achievable is the best approach. Then again, maybe not.
As long as we are trying in any way to better ourselves, there really isn’t a bad day to start doing so. With that being said, good luck. We here at The College Times hope UVSC students fulfill their resolutions to the best of their abilities.
And even though most of us will only last a week or two, at least we tried.
