Two Takes: Yea: This is your year

“Two Takes” is a Kapio opinions feature that pits two opposing views against each other.  The question under debate for this “Two Takes” is “Are New Years Resolutions a worthwhile tradition?”  This is the “Yea” article.  The “Nay” article may be found here.

Once more our tiny blue planet has completed its revolution around the sun. Upon completing yet another lap, it has managed to help the half dozen calendar-focused stores on our island somehow validate their niche existence. How do they survive the rest of the year, we can’t help but wonder.

Anyway, with each calendar they sell us comes a promise of time. It’s not a promise of unlimited time, just a year. But within that single year we get 365 (or 366) days unspent, unspoiled by our sins or human failing. That’s 365 days worth of hope that things could be better than they were before. That is the essence of the New Years Day resolution: Another chance to get things right.

Ideally we would strive every day to be a better person, and to put a constant effort into pursuing our dreams. It would also be great if we were thankful every day of all the good things in our life. It would be great if we appreciated our mothers and fathers and told them how much we loved them every day. Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day do not detract from being thankful or appreciating our parents, but by giving us one day every year to focus on, we insure that we never forget those important things.

There are those who would preach in favor of contentment, but we are a species of dreamers. What is it that people ask for in their resolutions?  They want to be kinder, be healthier, find love, achieve success, work harder, be more open. The New Years Day Resolution is a positive and uplifting tradition, that embodies the spirit of ambition and tireless desire for improvement that defines mankind.

Man is a restless creature, always striving for a better tomorrow. We don’t just want to survive, we want to flourish. We don’t just want to be alive, we want to experience all that life has to offer. Appreciate what you have, but never stop dreaming. Never stop resolving to be who you want to be.

A lot of people who make a resolution this year will forget about it before the month is up. However, there are bound to be a few people who actually follow through. They are people who just needed a little push. They needed to set a day for themselves to start their commitment. Maybe last year your resolution didn’t pan out, but this year you’re a different person.

We can learn from our past, or we can be dragged down by it. You might want it more this year. You might have a new perspective on what could work. Be different from last year.

Perhaps a New Year Resolution pushed you into buying a gym membership that you never use. Now you lament the constant drain on your bank account that you can’t bring yourself to cancel. Would it have been better if you’d never resolved to get in better shape? Is it ever wrong to want to improve yourself? Our methods might fail us, or we might lack the willpower to follow through, but there is no greater failure than when we regret trying.

This year will be great year. Last year I didn’t have a terrible run at things, but I know I can do better. There are goals that I’ve been neglecting and I know that if I just put my mind to it, I could really take some huge steps forward. This year, I resolve to…

And go. The rest of the sentence, and the rest of the year is yours.