New Year’s resolutions – it’s tradition

Go back 3,500 years and at the start of a new year you might find a Babylonian promising to his god Anu that he’d return borrowed fruit and grain to the generous Mesopotamian farmer who loaned him the sustenance during the growing season.

Or, 2,000 years ago you might find a Roman promising to be a better citizen in the coming year. She likely prayed to the god Janus, for whom our calendar’s first month is named, to ensure her new year would be remarkable. She might have made the prayer to Janus in his role as the Patron of Bridges while she stared at his double-faced sculpture, one face peering into the past and the other to the future.

In the first half of the 18th Century you might find America’s original philosophical theologian Jonathan Edwards writing detailed, comprehensive resolutions over the course of two to three years in New England Puritan communities encouraging self-improvement and renewed faith.

There’s actually a world history of civilizations defining and committing to good intentions at the end of each year, generation after generation.

As New Year’s resolutions begin to percolate in your mind, you might be reflecting on things you should have avoided, or erred in doing, over the course of 2013. Perhaps you’re a glass-is-half-full thinker and are piecing together new goals as a clean slate of 12-month “opportunity” beckons your commitment.

The fact that for thousands of years humankind has looked to a fresh start with the coming of each year is encouraging. I think the very fact we want to become better people is something to celebrate of cultures past and present. It’s a mentality we should continue to instill in our children and manifest by our actions.

Easier said than done though, right? Resolutions at the end of December are easily broken the first few weeks into January and then it’s a long wait for the next year with pizza in one hand, beer in the other, and your foot kicking the bathroom scale back into the linen closet.

Dr. Guy Winch, a clinical psychologist and blogger for The Huffington Post, recently commented about the ways we err in making resolutions. In his blog post “5 Common New Year’s Resolution Mistakes and How to Fix Them,” Winch focuses on classic road blocks to fulfilling our intentions.

The first and most notable warning is to avoid “goal binging” and forming a list that’s so comprehensive it’s unachievable over the next year. Winch references vague goals, urging specificity and targeted success measures (i.e. how many pounds do you want to lose; how many inches in your midsection do you want to reduce). Unrealistic goals blossom about this time, so without bursting your bubble — suffice to say that if you have never mountain climbed, ascending Mt. Everest this year is a bit optimistic. Inadequate planning is the Achilles heel for many, particularly when it comes to big plans for dieting, saving money, travel and other goals that require research and dedication. Finally, the absence of a timeline and schedule to meet your goals will doom the most ardent of resolution makers. Utilizing a calendar past your Jan. 1 libation frenzy is helpful for success.

On a personal level, I’m no different than most people. I need to lose weight. I need to eat healthier, slower and at a table rather than in the car and out of a bag of fast food.

I talk too much. Oh wait — I’m a radio talk show host! But you know what I mean. Listening is more important than talking. As Steven Covey, author of the bestseller “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” sagely reminds: “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

How about being kinder? Every so often I reflect on an unnecessary bark or rant I made to a family member, friend or Mat-Su driver trudging along too slow for my liking on the Glenn and Parks highways. As motivational speaker Leo Buscaglia observed, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

I want to be a healthier, more thoughtful, generous person. I’d like to save more money, get my work done efficiently and improve on parenting skills and communication. I have goals and personal resolutions planned for 2014 and that gives me some added purpose for the coming year.

And so how about you? It’s not too late. What are your resolutions for the coming year?

For what it’s worth, I hope you set goals that you can and will achieve. Try to map them out with your family. Kids can make them too and that is a valuable lesson. If the Babylonians, Romans, and early American Puritans can make and stick to New Year’s resolutions, so can all of us.

In the meantime, please forgive me if I grimace and shake my head at you driving too slow driving ahead of me into Anchorage. Remember it’s a resolution and I have a whole year of trial and error to make my thoughtfulness stick.

Happy New Year!

Meadow Lakes resident Tom Anderson is a former Republican legislator. He owns Optima Public Relations and hosts a radio show, which airs in the Valley on KVNT 1020 AM from 5 to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.