New Years Resolutions: Why not to do them.

I guess this would be a follow-up to my earlier rant about the post holiday syndrome of cleansing out all the alcohol and food that has been consumed in the past few weeks… so bear with me.

New Years Resolutions usually begin from day one, sometimes a little bit after midnight when the sick starts to come, but often they begin at whatever time you wake up on New Years day: “I am never drinking that much again”. A statement that will probably last until Friday, when you unwind after the first week back or if you are like me, it won’t last until the first Monday. Off to a great start.

These proclamations continue as we all start to list off those things we know we should be doing but don’t always follow through: I will work out every day. I will smoke less. I will save more money. I will sleep around less. And on and on… and how long will those last? Most likely the same amount of time as it takes to get that drink made.

Why do we think that simply waking up one morning, we will suddenly have the will power or the will, for that matter, to change our learned behaviors, our routines, our releases, whatever!? It’s just another day, international hangover day, for that matter…hope you all celebrated accordingly with extra sleep and extra greasy chow. Mmm.

As food is always on my mind… I often hear the Resolutions of “I will start that diet.” Really? Will you? Maybe for a week…maybe for a month even. But before you know it, it’s New Years Eve again and we are claiming the same resolution as last year, thinking this time it will be different. Guess what? It probably won’t.

I don’t see New Years as a time to flip my day upside down. I see it as a time when we can reflect on the past year, hope for the future and keep going. I have better luck with the decisions I make on any given Tuesday than I do with those I make on New Years, simply for the sake of being New Years.

Take the diet example. I see New Years as an excuse to continue my holiday binge. The first week back at work is a perfectly good reason to go for the prolonged happy hour. It’s rough getting back in the game! And all that chocolate left from Christmas? Well, if it doesn’t get eaten now—It is bound to be wasted (and you know how I feel about wasting food, now!) Better to eat it now than later anyways, before the skimpy clothes really come back into style. ;)

Please, skip the diet. Skip the false pretense that the start to this month is any different than the start of any other. Keep those resolutions reasonable, and remember they are really just food for thought, not a law to live-by!

Happy New Year!