Resolutions of a Non-Resolutionist

It is that time of the year, time to put 2012 on a bunch of checks so I don’t act like a dork and forget and put 2011 on them. It is also time to put the Christmas decorations away. It has actually been fun having them up since I haven’t done so in 5 years. Last year I kind of did, I bought a small pre-lit tree for $15.00. It was the kind that is supposed to be outside on your doorstep. I got it after Christmas for when my parents came for a visit in early January to celebrate our Christmas. Sooooo…I don’t really count that. It is also time for The NHL Winter Classic which is an outdoor hockey game. The biggest thing that happens this time of year is the making of resolutions.

Apparently New Years is the oldest of the holidays and started around 4000 years ago in ancient Babylon. The biggest difference is that it was celebrated on the first day of spring. The Romans are the ones who started messing with the calendar and moved it to January 1 but then Julius Caesar tweaked it even more by moving January so it would match up with the sun. When he did that the previous year lasted 445 days. Talk about the longest year ever.

When I was looking for more good luck New Year’s foods besides Black Eyed Peas and Pork/Sauerkraut I came across a site that said resolutions started in Babylon also. The most popular resolutions were resolving to return borrowed farm equipment sooner. I’m guessing all the toiling in the dirt and on the farm they wouldn’t have had to worry about weight loss resolutions.

Resolution is defined as: “a formal expression of opinion or intention made” or “a resolve or determination.” Don’t you hate when they use part of the word to define a word. A-nnoying!

For me, resolutions are like resolving to set myself up for failure. I really don’t want to take the clean slate of 2012 and write on it with permanent marker. Too much pressure. Something like only 12% (I swear I didn’t make that percentage up. I read it somewhere on the internet so it must be true) of people actually fulfills their resolutions. Not very good odds if you ask me. I hope that I continue to grow, change, and build better habits everyday not just on the first day of the new year. So, I hope I have evolved enough to leave resolutions behind me and just live.

So in closing…essentially, I am saying that I am Non-Resolutionist and I resolve to continue to be as such.