Be It So Resolved

Today is the day to make resolutions, to reflect back on past resolutions, take pride in those kept and resolve to do better on those broken or ignored. Shouldn’t resolutions be something we take stock of on a daily basis though—things we reflect on and strive for each day as part of our own personal evolution? After all, how is tomorrow really any different from today? Saturday becomes Sunday, December thirty-first becomes January first. The year changes, yes, but conceptually the change is no different than the change from November thirtieth to December first. Yet we give this shift tonight so much influence and meaning. We toast it, we stay up late to usher it in, we take the day off, we resolve to make changes, to be better, and to do better. But wouldn’t our personal development be more successful and more meaningful if we took a moment to reflect daily, a moment to resolve to do and be better each day? Then we wouldn’t need to make lists of resolutions to be posted on the refrigerator only to soon be buried by other miscellany held in place with magnets. On the eve of each new year we could take a break from resolving and take pleasure in knowing we are better than yesterday, last week, last month, last year, and that the processing of being and getting better is our continuous path into the future.