One of the easiest ways for me to tell that it’s January is by watching TV. Whenever the commercials come on I invariably see ads for two things: gym memberships and Weight Watchers. It’s pretty easy to understand why you see a preponderance of commercials like these throughout the month. With each new year, people come up with their resolutions about how to better themselves and their lives. It’s not surprising that one such way that people try to accomplish that goal is by getting back into shape.
What I think is even more entertaining is if you actually go to a gym around this time of year. You’ll see all sorts of people at the beginning of the month using almost all of the workout equipment. Then, the next week the gym will be slightly less crowded. And gradually with each passing week the number will dwindle until the gym is mostly left with the same members it’s always had. Unfortunately, a lot of people’s excitement about their New Year’s resolutions doesn’t necessarily correspond with their tenacity.
I’ve always wondered why we pick New Year’s to try to make bold changes in our lives. When you think about it, the beginning of our calendar year really is such an arbitrary date. You could just as easily change the way you live at any other time of the year and still achieve the same end result. But I suppose there is something nice about the idea of beginning anew.
However, what I really don’t like about New Year’s resolutions is that most of the resolutions themselves aren’t all that new.
A lot of us end up having the same resolutions year after year. Lose weight, get in shape, quit smoking, study more, etc. That’s not to say that such goals aren’t worthy; indeed, I think any possible positive change that’s realistic enough for you to achieve is worth pursuing. And I’d be a hypocrite for condemning people for having resolutions like these because one change I recently decided in my life this year is to go vegetarian.
But if we’re going to come up with a resolution, why not making it something more resolute? I feel like it can be fun and all the more rewarding to come up with a creative New Year’s resolution. In fact, there’s one possible resolution that I’ve been considering myself in the past few weeks. We often say that you “learn something new every day,” but I’ve never heard of anyone really testing that theory. So why not actually make that a part of your life? Each day, make sure that you learn something new, be it tying a bowtie, changing a tire, deriving an equation or anything else you consider worthy of learning.
By no means is a goal like this simple, but the more challenging the resolution, the greater the payoff in the end.
If you’re resolved to do something new with your life this year, I’d encourage you to consider this goal. You’d be surprised by just how much you can learn.
Brandon is a sophomore majoring in English.
