Well good morning. I am sorry I missed you all yesterday, but I hope that it was a good first day back. And I do hope that you had a good break as well. Yesterday was, of course, the first school day of 2026. Now, in one way, that doesn’t really mean a whole lot. It’s no different than any other day, I suppose. But in another sense, it can represent a chance to start anew. I don’t know about you, but I can use a restart every now and then.
And of course, one of the ways people mark the chance to start the year anew is with New Year’s Resolutions. Unfortunately, most of them last about two weeks before people quit. As it turns out, New Year’s resolutions have quite a long history that might shed some light on why they’re so hard to keep these days.
Most historians believe they started with the ancient Babylonians 4,000 years ago, who would make promises to the gods at the start of the growing season, usually oaths to pay their debts or return things that were borrowed. The ancient Romans adopted the tradition, making promises to their god Janus (from which we get the month, January) to be good in the new year and offering sacrifices to commemorate their resolutions. In medieval times, knights would renew their chivalric vows each year by placing their hand on a Peacock. And in the early years of the United States, most people would make New Year’s resolutions, usually with spiritual or moral content.
In 1947, the #1 new year’s resolution in America was to be more understanding and control one’s temper, with #2 being to improve one’s character. Today, the #1 new year’s resolution is: to lose weight, followed by getting organized at #2, and saving more money at #3.
Do you notice something? Our resolutions have gone from making promises to the gods, to renewing the vows of our duties to others, to making commitments to improve our own character, to making resolutions to accomplish things entirely for ourselves. Quitter’s Day—the day when most people give up on their resolutions—is this Friday. It was established not in ancient Babylon or Rome, not in medieval England or colonial America, but in 2019. Coincidence? Give it some thought…
And have a wonderful day.