Full of resolve

It’s New Year ’s Day. Have you made your list yet?

There’s an amusing correlation between earnest “New Year, New You” articles, and the kind that admit to being a big New Year’s fail. The US Government’s (I know) page of common New Year’s resolutions lists ‘lose weight’, ‘quit smoking’ ‘eat healthy’, ‘manage stress’ and ‘drink less’. Time Magazine's “10 commonly broken New Year's resolutions” includes ‘lose weight and get fit’, ‘quit smoking’ and, shockingly, ‘drink less’.

The Daily Herald cites a study that found 88 percent of those who set resolutions at the beginning of the year failed, despite the fact that 52 percent of the study’s participants were certain they would succeed when they set the goal.

But ‘tis the season, right? When people succumb to the idea that a page turning on the calendar makes us magically more willing to exercise, be more moderate, and generally be better people.

Over the next week, we’ll have pieces from people who are both making resolutions, and rebelling against the idea. From quitting smoking, to being tidier, diets, and packing in your career to follow your dreams, or overcoming creative inertia.

Saziah Bashir writes about years of resolving to lose weight – starting when she was 10. In 2007 she gave up on resolutions, but “I couldn’t resist the “new year, new me” trap and so I continued to subconsciously make subtle variations of the same old resolutions. And I continued to fail. I spent every January hopeful and every December ashamed.”

“I think that people get into safe routines and can’t see what the alternative would look like, and that’s really terrifying,” says Delaney Mes, who quit her job in 2013 to become a food writer. She, and Ali Jacs (who also appears in the article, having quit her job to focus on spoken word poetry and social enterprise) admit they’re fortunate to be able to do that in an environment where jobs are scarce and often insecure – especially for young people.

Personally, the only resolutions I’ve ever kept have been joke ones: the time I committed to learning both how to walk in high heels and how to drink straight spirits was a fun, if misguided, year.

Tobias Brockie tackles a related problem – actually following through on good ideas. In 2013, he planned to blog, to write, and to play music. “I had notebooks full of ideas and thoughts, and a post-it note stuck to my computer at work that said, inscrutably, ‘hotel misgivings’.” He also talks to illustrator Phoebe Morris whose final-year project deals with creative block. “So I was looking at, like, fear of being judged, fear of starting a project, putting pen to paper, acting on an idea, and fear of the unknown,” she says.

Laura Vincent’s problem might be too much creativity. So much that it spills over into her living space – her messy living space. “In hindsight, this says a lot about my approach to many difficult things in life: just ignore ignore ignore, reply with a vague “mmmhmmm” when asked about it, and ignore again, hoping no one notices.” Hence her 2014 resolution to be tidier.

Personally, the only resolutions I’ve ever kept have been joke ones: the time I committed to learning both how to walk in high heels and how to drink straight spirits was a fun, if misguided, year. Last year, I didn’t make a resolution, but I did, about a week into the New Year, decide to quit smoking. What followed was withdrawals, mood swings, and the ever-increasing understanding that I had an addiction I was reluctant to admit to, but 12 months later, I am still firmly on the wagon. Well, I’m still clinging to the wagon, at least.

My colleague, Elle Hunt, shares her story of a two-week detox, “to press the restart button on [her] eating habits”: “Brunch that weekend posed a problem, too. Unfeasibly tipsy after a half-mug of Buck’s Fizz to celebrate our Saturday Morning takeover, I met a friend at a cafe, where I exceeded my daily limit of one black coffee by another two black coffees; neglected to ask for no dressing on my salad; and shared a slice of cake.”

We’ve also asked some high-profile New Zealanders to look back at 2013, and to share their wishes for this year. Politicians, musicians and activists look at the events that shaped last year, and what they imagine might be big in 2014.

This week kicks off the month of “excess”. But there won't be any articles about shedding those holiday kilos on The Wireless, nor will we have any 10-part lists about how to become a better “you”. (If you’re going to join a gym, wait until the end of January – they’ll be much quieter.)

After resolutions, we'll look at "excess baggage" – your holiday travel stories and the summer music festivals. Then, people who live to excess – extreme sports people, addicts, binge drinkers, and collectors. And last up in January “substances”, cannabis, psychoactive substances and alcohol.

Happy New Year!

(Cover image: Flickr user Amodiovalerio Verde)