New Year's resolutions: A great way to not change

After we've stuffed ourselves silly with sweets and emptied our pocketbooks to fill that bare space beneath our Christmas trees, we're socially pressured to make resolutions for the new year.

Practically every American makes and breaks some, maybe most, of their New Year's resolutions. For that matter, most people break the resolutions they make at any given time.

But for some reason, we can't stop ourselves from feeling each new year bring with it a new beginning.

But new beginnings don't happen that often. They certainly don't happen for every American simultaneously once per year, adjusting for time zones.

But what does happen each day is we make the decisions that define our lives. By changing our decisions, we can change our lives, and the power to do that comes with every minute of every day.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not opposed to taking stock of your life at a year's end and deciding things you'd like to change in the future. I'm just opposed to feeling like the end of the year is the time to do such things.

The problem with New Year's resolutions is that there is a time frame. Unless you're thinking about quitting smoking, exercising regularly, eating right and spending more time away from the television exactly at midnight this Thursday, chances are you'll be lighting another cigarette, popping another of those delicious stuffed shrimp into your mouth and watching the ball drop in Times Square at this year's obligatory New Year's party. If you're doing that, have you already failed? And if you've already failed, why keep trying?

And there's always next year. If you mess up, well, so what, you can just try again next year. In fact, it's almost better, because now you have almost a whole year to prepare yourself mentally to actually go through with making the change. Another year to enjoy those cigarettes, that fast food.

So, rather than continuing toward the long-term goal despite having that one cigarette, having that one burger or not exercising that one time, the goal too often gets put back on the shelf.

But we should not expect perfection from ourselves. We should expect ourselves to falter along the way, and we should be ready to pick ourselves up and press onward.

By simply deciding to change your decisions, you can change your life at any time. There's no need to wait for New Year's Day, for when the kids go back to school, for when you get the garage cleaned, for when you get that raise, that new car, that new house.

I say New Year's Day is just like any other day. This year, that happens to be a Friday.

Obligatory inspirational quotes:

"People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be." -- Harvey Mackay

"No more resolutions. Just change." -- Anonymous message on postsecret.com

"Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try." -- Frank Oz as Yoda