(Host)
Commentator Rich Nadworny has been thinking about his New Years
resolutions – but he’s wondering if it’s such a good idea to make them
in January.
(Nadworny) I’ve always felt that January 1st was a
random time to start something new, let alone resolve a year’s worth of
decisions. The beginning of January doesn’t really feel like the start
of anything, if you ask me. It feels more like the middle of something.
And maybe that’s exactly why so many people have trouble keeping their
New Years’ resolutions.
Now don’t get me wrong; I think resolutions are great. It’s just the timing I have trouble with.
Take,
for example, my persistent New Year’s resolutions of learning to play
the piano or learning to speak Italian. Every year, one of them makes it
onto my list of resolutions. I’ve always wanted to do both, although
I’m not sure why I want to learn how to speak Italian except that it
seems incredibly fun to actually speak it. Maybe I just like to talk
with my hands.
And yet, by the time the end of February rolls
around, it’s clear I’m not going to tickle the ivories or parla italiano
this year either. And now I’m stuck with these failures for another 10
months. They hang like guilty swords of Damocles over my conscience.
I
still want to make resolutions, but I think we need more opportunities
to adjust them – actually more New Year’s celebrations. For example, in
India and south East Asia, most religions and countries observe the new
year in mid April. That would be a perfect time to revisit those January
resolutions, get rid of all the ones we’re failing at and make new
ones.
Take working out, gardening and travel resolutions. I
think they’d be much easier to accomplish in the spring and summer then
during the winter. I’d save those for April’s New Year.
Another
perfect time for new New Years resolutions would be in September for the
Jewish New Year. September always feels like the start of the year for
most of us, anyway, as summer vacation ends and school begins.
And
let’s face it, we don’t want those resolutions we made earlier in the
year lingering through the autumn – practically guaranteeing
disappointment. No, fall New Years resolutions would give us another
chance for a do-over.
Personally, with Yom Kippur, the Jewish
Day of Atonement only 8 days into that new year, I always end up
resolving to be nicer, more patient, and more accepting of others.
But
after 3-4 months of that I’m always forced to admit failure once more.
And that would bring us right back to our old New Years celebration of
January 1st again.
I love New Years resolutions. I just need more new years to make them work. In the mean time, I have to go find a piano teacher.