Here we are, facing a new year. We can’t help but think about the year gone by…and the new one approaching. For some, there are feelings mixed with sadness, regrets, and anxiety. For many others, a new year means a fresh start and a new beginning. It’s a tradition to make a resolution, offer a wish or a prediction for the new year, or lend advice about how best to navigate the new year.
Topping the list: Lose weight, stop smoking, spend less money, become better organized, listen to your spouse, be nice. We know when we make resolutions they are, at best, wishful thinking that hold no penalties if they don’t last, and most people won’t mention them again once the holiday decorations are put away.
For sure, resolutions are anything but resolute and binding…and although we may make them with sincerity and plan to keep them in earnest, there’s the sense of relief that we can always make them again next year. In fact, 88% of New Year’s resolutions fail—80% of them are over, forgotten, or just abandoned by March of the new year.
But new year’s resolutions can serve a purpose. Although perhaps uttered at a euphoric time, when we celebrate with noisy horns, silly hats, and a glass of wine or two, they give insight into our real selves—who we are, what we’d like to be, what we’d like to do, and—most important—what we wish for others. For sure, for some, resolutions, even for the moment, reveal our better angels.
Of course, there are always celebrities who weigh in with their new year’s hopes, predictions, aspirations, and advice. Maybe it’s an opportunity to keep it real. For others, it may be just a way to add to their followers.
Oprah Winfrey famously said, “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” Albert Einstein advised, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” Maya Angelou noted, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Mark Twain suggested that “New Year’s Day is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.” Rita Moreno told her fans to “Smell the roses. Smell the coffee. Whatever it is to make you happy.” Rev. Al Sharpton said, “I have two resolutions. One, I am going to maintain my health regimen, working out every morning and keeping my vegetarian diet, and two, that I am going to try and pull the city together to equally deal with criminal justice reform and to stop gun violence.”
John Lennon advised, “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” Michelle Obama encouraged youngsters to “Choose people in your life who lift you up.” Muhammed Ali gave this advice: “I hated every minute of training. But I said, don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life a champion.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. counseled his followers to “Take the first step in faith—you don’t need to see the whole staircase, just the first step.”
Frank Sinatra sang, “The best is yet to come, babe, and won’t it be fine. You think we’ve seen the sun but you ain’t seen it shine.” “Today” show host Hoda Kotb gave some advice with her resolution, saying, “My New Year’s resolution is to always be clear. Just to do everything with intention and clarity, so people know exactly what you mean when you say something.”
And even Dr. Seuss chimed in with this philosophical thought: “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”
Three years of the coronavirus and its variants; headlines blaring with examples of harm and hate throughout the world that were previously unimaginable or hopefully, never to be revisited again, have changed many things. There’s a “new normal” that is anything but normal. The devastating and continuing impact on lives and livelihoods would probably be on everyone’s list of “to end” and the wish to move on to a better time.
Returning to traditions where predictions, resolutions, and prayers have a place, even for a brief moment, gives us a much-needed respite from the chaos, and even a chance that they could last.
Resolutions are anything but resolute, but wouldn’t it be great if they were?
Gregory Floyd is president of Teamsters Local 237 and vice president at-large of the General Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.