New Year's Resolutions

As the new year approached I encountered more people than I would have liked who did not make resolutions for the new year. Their reasons differed slightly but mostly could placed into a category I will call what's-the-point? Some people do not make resolutions because they admit they never keep them or because they can not think of any "good" ones. In a few cases people proclaimed that they did not bother because they did not want to change a thing about themselves. But enough about these new year's resolutions scrooges, I want to focus on what is great about new year's resolutions.

It doesn't matter if you keep your resolution all the way until December 31st or whether is gets the quality stamp of approval from everyone you meet. It can be lofty or simple, personal or communal, unique or common. Mostly, it can be a time to put your best foot forward. Making a resolution is a good way to be introspective, organize your goals, and motivate yourself to be a little better in some way or a little closer to the person you would like to be. In doing so, you simultaneously acknowledge humility and hope. That hope is what is, dare I say, beautiful about a new year's resolution. However, in failing to embrace the process of resolution making, you recognize their opposites: arrogance and defeat, an odd couple to say the least. There is hardly anything worth being arrogant about regarding giving up and calling it quits. It certainly does not sound like a good way to approach life regardless of the date.

Kudos to those who have set their standards for themselves a little higher this year and have not given up on themselves or ther world! And, to those who have yet to create a resolution, set cynicism aside and permit yourself to be optimistic for once; make a resolution ...even if it is the same as last year's.