Why Making Resolutions Is A Silly Idea Anyway

by Melissa Smith

It’s the 1^st January. You wake up to a brand new year, a new start, new you. No doubt you have a list of resolutions fresh in your mind or scribbled down on a scrap of paper: watch less TV, get homework in on time, eat less cake. These are all valid things to aspire to, but what is it about the passing from 31^st December to the next day that inspires such thoughts of drastic personal ambition? Is the setting and rising of the sun any more profound than any other day?

The answer is no, it’s not. We shouldn’t have to wait for the beginning of January for the opportunity to better ourselves. There’s no reason why, say, the 7^th July shouldn’t be your new start. This is presuming that you manage to keep these resolutions in the first place. Every year it’s entertaining to watch as more and more pledges are dropped. The Nike-clad new runners lining the streets get sparser as January unfolds, more dieters cave in to the call of a Mars bar and those wishing to get up earlier find themselves crawling out of bed even later in the afternoon. It’s a sad truth, but one that is usually inevitable unless you have chosen a particularly easy task to achieve, such as ‘eat more cake’ or ‘exercise less’. However, if you are one of those enviously strong-willed individuals who have no problem sticking to a resolution, don’t limit yourself to one day of the year to do it. 

The same rule can apply to other annual public holidays. For example, why should 14^th February be the acceptable date to share a bowl of spaghetti with a romantic interest in a packed out Italian place? Go wild and take them on the 15^th instead. Take them every other day of the year if your credit card (and threshold for parmesan) can bear it! Besides, I hear it’s easier to get a table…

So why not break tradition and mix up the holidays a bit?

 

Hide Maltesers in the garden in October, dress up as an elf in June, play with fireworks in April (maybe not that). The only event I would steer clear from in this circumstance is Halloween. It may be acceptable to walk around with fake blood on your face and a cape on one day of the year, but any other time it’s just plain creepy.