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Whew! Holidays galore! Whether you celebrated Hanukkah, Eid ul-Fitr, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or your own special holiday, December usually is a whirlwind of activity! And then comes the New Year! With the old year behind us we are perched at the edge of a brand spanking new set of the standard 12 months. We can start 2002 or 2008 fresh and sparkling!

That is the very sentiment that inspires people to make New Year’s Resolutions. What is a resolution and how did New Year’s Resolutions come about?

The dictionary says that making New Year’s Resolutions is “setting goals for the New Year.” As to where or how they originated, we only know that resolutions were already recorded by the Babylonians as far back as four thousand years ago!

The New Year is a great time to look at the changes we would like to make in our lives and how to accomplish them. A resolution is like a promise to our selves to improve our lives and to make the New Year a better one for our selves and others. Even though their New Year began in March with the planting of new crops, the Babylonians made New Year’s Resolutions just like we do. (One of their most common New Year’s Resolutions was to return borrowed farm equipment.) They probably also experienced the same quandaries we do.

For instance, experience tells us that if we make a goal too hard to accomplish (like lassoing a tornado) we lose our interest and motivation; we feel defeated before we even get a good start. We also know that if the goal is too easy (like promising to breathe every day) we really won’t change anything about our lives.

The Babylonians believed that whatever a person did on the first day of the year had an effect all year long. Hence, making a resolution with sincere intentions is a great way to start the New Year.

So what are some positive and realistic New Year’s Resolutions?

• Are you shy and want to be more outgoing? Resolve to be friendly. Think of creative ways to do that. Maybe you can go out of your way to welcome a new kid to school or to your neighborhood? Try to find a common interest to talk about…school, movies, TV shows. Maybe you can volunteer to tutor younger students who need help with reading or math or your favorite subject.

  

• Would you like to improve your grades? How about resolving to study harder or asking a friend or parent to help quiz you before a test?
• Do you need more exercise? Exercising with friends is more fun and easier to stick to. Ask a friend to join you on a walk, bicycling, to play ping pong, or simply do jumping jacks.
• Would your grandparents like to hear from you more often? Resolve to call or write them once a month. Keep a calendar so you won’t lose track and drop them a postcard telling them about a movie you saw, a book you read or something fun and interesting at school. Maybe your pet dog has learned a new trick!
• Maybe you feel like you could be a nicer person. Make a resolution to be kind to everyone or start close to home with your kid brother or sister. Perhaps you could help them with their homework, show them how to snap their fingers, or let them listen to your CDs. If your mom is tired after a full day working at home or at the office, maybe she’d like it if you put the groceries away or load and unload the dishwasher.
• Do you think it’s important to protect the environment? Resolve to handle the recycling at home, join local volunteers in community clean up projects or see about planting and caring for bushes and flowers that support bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

What ideas do you have for this brand New Year? Whatever you decide to do in order to make 2002 a better year for yourself and others, pick resolutions you know you can stick to and then do! You’ll be surprised what a difference it can make in your life and perhaps in the lives of those around you. Happy New Year!