As we knock on the door of 2021, the term New Year’s Resolution is on the lips and minds of many – me included.
In pondering the phrase, I learned from this article that “The origin of making New Year’s resolutions rests with the Babylonians, who reportedly made promises to the gods in hopes they’d earn good favor in the coming year. They often resolved to get out of debt.”
Not sure if that is true or not, but I thought it was very cool.
Another article continued the lore, reporting that “By 1802, the tradition of making (and failing to keep) New Year’s resolutions was common enough that people satirized the practice. Walker’s Hibernian Magazine wrote a series of joke resolutions such as “Statesmen have resolved to have no other object in view than the good of their country…””
This last year, I had two New Year’s resolutions: the first was to watch 100 movies, and the second was to read (or listen to) 35 books. I completed both.
For 2021, I am expanding the list.
My New Year’s resolutions are as follows:
1. Watch 100 movies (at least 85 have to be new)
2. Read 52 books (45 have to be new, and 15 have to be read on paper)
3. Do 21 things that scare me (I will get into this another day)
4. Read 365 chapters of the Bible
5. Create 12 issues of the Pigeon (my monthly newsletter / zine)
6. Create 12 episodes (creative projects, audio or visual – fairly loose)
Here’s to another year of completed challenges.