Do people actually make New Year’s resolutions?  And if they do, what percentage of these fine
resolutions do they really keep?  Do most
people resolve to accomplish specific goals, or are most resolutions of a general,
all-purpose sort?  I would think that the
general kind would be the easiest to keep or, at least, the easiest to kid
oneself into thinking that one kept, such as I resolve to be a better person.  The most difficult are the specific ones,
such as I resolve to stop smoking or I will not let the dirty clothes pile up. 

There are a number of resolutions that I ought to make. I
could say that I resolve to:

1.        Eat less sweets.

2.      Jog further.

3.       Work more resolutely on my writing.

4.      Call my sister more often.

5.      Read more.

To be realistic, however, I know that I shall do none of
these things.  Numbers 3 and 5 have the
best chance of being accomplished.  As
far as Number 1 is concerned, I can hear that box of peanut brittle calling to
me even as I type these words.  As for the
jogging, especially in the winter, when I get to that point on the long hill
where I can turn left and drift slightly downward, catching my breath in the
process, I invariably take it.  Calling
my sister is pretty easy, but it’s not the sort of thing one remembers to do
regularly. 

Most people who make resolutions at the beginning of a
new year are trying to force themselves to accomplish something that, up to
that point, they have been incapable of doing.  They are doomed to failure.  Resolutions are a temporary pretense, a psychological subterfuge,
designed to fool someone into thinking that he or she can succeed at something
that has escaped them to date.   They are
not real resolutions.  They may be the determinations of
someone who wishes to accomplish something, but to be determined is rarely
enough.  True impetus for accomplishment
comes from deeper within and thus has a better chance of success.  It is when one has the character to be actually resolute that one improves
the chance of seeing the resolution through.  Determination may
get one started, but resolution has
a steadfastness often missing in mere determination. 

So, for those of you who are planning to make New Year’s
resolutions, good luck to you.  I’m
betting that you can do it.  Wink,
wink.  Nudge, nudge.