Are New Year's resolutions worth the hassle?

by Erin Eisinger
THE POST

If you want to blame someone for coming up with the idea of New Year's resolutions, blame the Babylonians - they started the tradition more than 4,000 years ago. Back then, the most common resolution was not to lose weight or stop smoking, but to return borrowed things.

The Romans continued the tradition of celebrating the New Year and, like the Babylonians, their celebration occurred in the spring, a time of rebirth and rejuvenation. It took several attempts for the Romans to set a date for the New Year, but in 46 B.C., under the rule of Julius Caesar, Jan. 1 became the official start. Thus resolutions were made no longer in spring, but in the dead of winter.

The tradition of New Year celebration has survived the test of time and is still part of our culture nearly two millennia later. According to a Web site devoted to the topic, (http://www.phoebe.8m.com/newyear.htm), millions of people each year resolve to live better, eat better and feel better than they ever have before. But despite this long tradition of an annual self-audit, how effective are New Year's resolutions? According to the Web site, studies show that not only do most people break their resolutions, but continue to make the same ones year after year.

Ohio University junior Meghan McCoy said New Year's resolutions provide a good chance to make lifestyle changes.

"It's an excuse to change something about your life that you have wanted to change but just haven't," McCoy said. "Most people break their resolutions because they're just lazy." McCoy's personal resolutions include to stop biting her fingernails and to be nicer to her boyfriend.

Being nicer to others is not an uncommon resolution. Being kinder to people is one of the 10 most common New Year's resolutions, according to articles found on the Web site. Other top contenders were losing weight, quitting smoking, working harder, making more money and gossiping less. But according to the same site, 37 percent of Americans who make resolutions will break them within the first week of the New Year.

According to **Making and Breaking Those New Year's Resolutions** by Dr. Kevin Polk, lack of planning is the main reason people do not meet their goals. Most people underestimate the commitment in maintaining a resolution; a maintenance plan is as important, if not more important, than the resolution itself.

Most people wait until the New Year to make these changes in their lives, but the motivation to change does not just appear on the first day of January. People have to be realistic in their goals or they will fail, according to Polk's book.

Despite the notorious failure rate of many New Year's improvements, many OU students continue to make resolutions and are confident in their ability to stick to them.

Senior Colin Picman has an ambitious list of resolutions this year. He plans to be nicer to people, eat only organic fruits and vegetables, adhere more closely to his strict vegetarian diet, exercise daily and develop a daily routine. Picman said he thinks he will be able to accomplish all of his goals.

However, according to **Just in Time for the Millennium! A New Year's Resolution You Will Never Want to Break** by Kristopher Wackerman, starting off the New Year by promising to quit old habits is a surefire way to break those resolutions in a heartbeat. Wackerman says a more effective method of change is to start doing things, such as to start walking, instead of to stop eating.

His book also suggests starting small is essential and resolutions should be more about enjoying life, not restricting it. Also, by improving one's life weekly, rather than all at once, people would increase the chance of success in bettering their lives.