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Yahoo!In the United States, New Year’s resolutions tend to focus on physical health (or appearance) and on money. At usa.gov, seven out of the 13 most popular resolutions listed relate to health, including “lose weight,” “get fit,” and “drink less alcohol” — with that last probably resulting as much from the traditional New Year’s Day hangover as from any behavior indulged in throughout the previous year. Managing debt, saving money, and finding a better job also make the list, speaking to our overall preoccupation with finances.
But resolutions don’t have to be so practical — sometimes, in fact, they’re abstract, esoteric, or even contradictory to some of the other common resolutions formed at this time of year.
Cookiesinheaven, a Santa Barbara blog, recommends eating out more in 2009; while anyone keeping that resolution might have a lot of fun, and the blog suggests it as a way of supporting local business, eating out will probably end any attempts to lose weight, save money, or drink less alcohol. (At least the way I do it; perhaps there’s someone out there who can eat out and consume only vegetables and lean proteins).
One interesting aspect of New Year’s resolutions is that they’ve often been focused on looks and health, historically, but frequently not the way they are now. Bodypositive.com found an advertisement from 1890, pushing a product called “Professor Williams’ famed ‘FAT-TEN-U FOODS.” The ad points to the sad case of “the poor unfortunate on the left who … must, in the confines of her bedroom, through shame, try to cover her poor thin figure from the gaze of her beloved spouse.” This lady’s resolution? To gain 40 pounds or so, according to the accompanying “after” image.
And then there are those resolutions that are truly personal, and sometimes so odd or unconventional that anyone besides the resolving party has to do a double take. One of my favorites: “Assure my lawyer that I will never again show up drunk at a custody hearing.” Perhaps that one’s not so strange; it could be considered a subheading of “drink less alcohol,” after all.
Perhaps the best New Year’s resolution floating around this year is this one: “Must remember to suck less on a daily average.” Anyone could benefit from following that one, although few of us would have the humility to form it.
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