2016 is almost upon us. A new year and in these last few days, Americans find themselves regretting the decisions of the previous year. Unfinished tasks, what-ifs and has-beens; our past regrets lie behind us as thick as fallen snow. Many of us will look ahead with hope and filled with conviction as we say, "This time I'll change. This year I'll make things right." The rest of us will laugh, because we know the truth.
Why do we have so much trouble keeping our New Year's Resolutions? These promises that we make to ourselves. Americans seem to have a terrible time staying disciplined and maintaining our pledges. No matter how small the change, the vast majority of us will find ourselves unable to keep our promises for longer than a week at most. The tradition of New Year's Resolutions has become a running joke with Americans, an outdated tradition that nobody takes seriously anymore.
So why do we keep making them? These promissory notes, full of hope and dreams of self-improvement, never seem to work out the way that we intended. I've been telling myself that I would take the time to learn the guitar since I turned ten... almost ten years ago. It still hasn't happened; I'm still just a bumbling idiot when I try to strum a chord. And yet, I won't let this dream die. It's almost as if this promise that I make to myself every year is a kind of motivation to keep trying. In a way, these resolutions that we make for ourselves represent our goals and hopes for the future us and embody the spirit of growth in all of us. By making these resolutions, perhaps instead of laughing and giving up on ourselves, deep down we're really promising to ourselves "Someday."
Someday our resolutions will come true. Someday we'll learn how to do a backflip, or lose those pounds, or learn another language. Someday we'll look at ourselves in the mirror and smile because we'll have achieved something we've dreamt about for years. Someday, but maybe not today. Don't be afraid to make a New Year's Resolution, because eventually it will come true.
