January 1 has come and gone. Now we look forward to a, hopefully, better 2025.  Did you make any New Year resolutions? If you did, how many of them have you broken already? Do you regret any of them? Are there other resolutions you wish you had made and kept?

What are resolutions? Are they wishes for the future? Are they goals we hope to achieve? Are they simply something we make because our family or others expect from us? Can they be shared with others or are they like birthday wishes which can only come true if kept secret? I’m not sure I have an answer for any of these questions. Perhaps the answers are different for each person or for each resolution. Perhaps there is no need for answers.

When I was a child, each year it was important to make resolutions. Sometimes they were to correct things that had been done wrong the previous year. Sometimes they were new hopes for the new year. Sometimes they were meaningless to anyone except me. And, regardless of what they were, they were often broken within a few days or weeks.

As I look back, I cannot remember any specific resolution that I made. I can’t remember any resolution that was shared by a family member or friend. Yet it always seemed that making resolutions could not be missed.

When I grew older the value of making resolutions at the end of each December or in early January became unnecessary or unimportant. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was I recognized that resolutions were broken almost as quickly as they were made. Perhaps it was because I became more cynical although I probably didn’t even know the meaning of the word. Or could it have been that the time spent was considered wasted.

Even today, I don’t make resolutions. Now my reasons are more easily defined. I do not make resolutions because I don’t really believe I can keep them. Maybe this is a recognition that one of my human weaknesses is the inability to set long term goals. And, for me, a goal for an entire year is long term.

I’ve never asked others, apart from young children, about their views on making resolutions. I suppose some do and that they can succeed in accomplishing whatever they hoped for. I know some who make resolutions that do not last even a few days into the new year. Some may make resolutions as a form of humor. In any case, if you or someone you know makes a resolution, I hope you can achieve your goal whether in a single year or even a longer time.

Who knows? I may make a resolution or two at the beginning of 2026 or I may continue with my tradition of making none. Or maybe I should make a 2025 resolution to make new resolutions in all future years.