New Year Resolutions

Fireworks indicating New Year celebrations

How do I feel about New Years Resolutions?

Simply put, mixed.

I love the idea of making the time to reflect and reset, looking at your life and trying to change things for the better. In reality, I never truly sit and reflect so I rarely achieve the things I set out to do. The list remains pretty much the same year in and year out. So, I decided to do a little Eurocentric research on the idea and see if it was a modern invention and if there was a reason behind my lacklustre efforts.

The  Origin Story

 As it turns out, the idea of new year resolutions started around 4000 years ago with the Ancient Babylonians. They celebrated their new year in March, once their crops were planted, with a 12 day festival called Akitu. The idea was to promise to return borrowed goods and settle debts for the following year. If you kept your promises, then the gods would look upon you favourably. If not, well the gods could ruin your life.

Similar practices continued into Roman times when the New Year was celebrated on the Ides of March, or 15th March. Then in 46AD Julius Caesar changed up the calendar and moved the festival to January naming the month after the revered two-faced Roman god, Janus. The god of doorways and thresholds. A place where one can look back and reflect on the previous year and simultaneously look forward and make promises to the gods for the coming year. Interestingly the Romans also exchanged gifts and pledged allegiance to other citizens and their rulers at the ‘turn of the year’.

In Medieval times knights re-pledged their allegiance to their values and chivalry at New Years. Chivalry in essence meant holding onto prevailing attitudes and keeping things just the way they were – a stratified society based on wealth and privilege.

By now the Julian calendar was out by at least 7 days. Thus, New Years Day was celebrated on different days across European society. So, in 1582 the Gregorian Calendar was instated by Pope Gregory and moved back to 1st January. Giving us today’s Gregorian calendar.

By the 18th Century parodies of New Year’s resolutions were appearing in newspapers. Since then, like many things in society, people and ideas have become less religious and more secular. Sometimes we can then lose the understanding of where ideas and practices came from. With knowledge we can see how much power and these ideas and traditions held, and perhaps how this weight of thousands of years of practice may still impact us.

Today I feel that this sense of duty/tradition has been co-opted by advertising and big business. We are then left feeling weak if we do not partake and immediately start to lose weight or join the gym. I know I have often felt a sense of failure as I once again don’t change my habits or ‘improve’ myself.

I also annoy myself, as many before me have, including those 18th century examples, by the deliberate delay in starting something new as it is not yet New Years. For example, continuing to eat poorly and drink all weekend as it almost NYE and I will be good then….

 

So can we harness the power of tradition and try to start flipping things around?

Over the last few years I have started to learn about the Wheel of the Year, an ancient European way of looking at life and living seasonally. Professionally I have also started to hear of menstrual cycles expressed as seasons. Both go something like this.

Winter as menses, a time to be quiet and reflect, to draw inwards and start to dream of what’s next.

Spring as the follicular or preparation season, whether that be sowing seeds or gathering materials to start a new phase of life.

Summer as ovulation and abundance, where we start to see ideas in the full light of the sun.

Autumn as the luteal phase where we need to slow down take stock and ask for help in life or traditionally to gather your harvest.

As I learn this, or perhaps reimagine the knowledge I already have, I realise more and more about the cycles of life. From an individual cycling through each month to the whole population negotiating the season. I feel that New Years Resolutions have a place but perhaps not at New Year’s and definitely not at this time in the Southern Hemisphere.

The New Year means summer here in Australia, the middle of school holidays which impacts all our movements. We also have massive work shutdowns across all industries. People travel, party and see family, It is not a time for deep reflection or making new starts. It is a time to be stepping out and celebrating the good weather and starting to reap the rewards of our preparation of our work in the Spring.

Of course nothing holds true for everyone at all times.

I do think though that if we can live our lives more aligned with nature and her cycles it can help support our lives.

So now what do I think?

Well, I’m happier now that I can see the roots of new year resolutions and how long the idea has been around in European history.

Chinese tradition suggests cleaning the house and washing to start afresh at new year’s, which is not in January. Traditionally there is also a kitchen god that reported back to heaven on how the family were doing. This seems like a similar sentiment to the European traditions to me.

I also believe that when you start to see similar ideas from multiple cultures coming together there is ‘something’ in that idea. But transplanting the exact idea to other places does not always suit the purpose, ideas and traditions need to be adapted to place and time. The timing of New Year’s Day varies with the moon in many Asian cultures. Just as the ancient Babylonians varied their celebrations according to the moon and their planting schedule. Aligning with nature and the rhythms of the earth.

My Plan

In 2024 I did a vision board in winter. I revisited it in Spring. Now in Summer I am looking at it with fresh eyes and a better understanding of how things cycle and seasons shine light on ideas.

I’m on track on some and off track in others. I have not always grabbed opportunities that passed me by. And with this knowledge I knew I needed to write this article and keep writing for all of 2025. I am not sure why. It is something that seemed important and I felt that by not writing I was failing not only myself but also my patients whom I encourage regularly to try something new. I am attempting to align my mind and values with my actions just like the Babylonians did.

Is this a New Year’s resolution?

No. I think is more of an intent. An intent to improve my experience of this year and to take the time to keep reflecting on my resolutions no matter when they were made. I also plan to return home and check that I have returned all my borrowed items…

From my point of view

I think New Years Resolutions possibly could change your life. I also think that our predecessors have transplanted dates and times to a different place without regard to our seasons, so perhaps more of us could change our lives by making resolutions at other times of the year.

This year I have found more power in my resolutions by reflecting in winter and just gathering tools, then truly trying to start changes in Spring. Not conventional but more powerful for me.

Though it has taken until midsummer to put pen to paper, I have done it. For now, I plan to continue making my resolutions in winter and being ready for action by Spring. And maybe this time I might achieve some of those things that have been on my list for a decade!