On New Years Resolutions

Not my resolutions, the idea of resolutions, I mean.

I'm actually slightly fond of the concept of New Years resolutions, if I'm being honest. Which isn't to take away from those people who hold the contrary view. You technically could make a plan, decide when to act, and carry it out on any given day. I can also see why some people would grow disenchanted with the concept.

If year after year, you make the same resolution and, year after year you fail, it's understandable that you may view the whole new year's resolution ritual as basically a glorified parade of your stubbornness and failure. Although, I would argue that perhaps noticing that tendency is in itself valuable information, especially if your general goals from year to year are wildly disparate or vary little.

Still, no one likes to look back and realize that they failed to bring their ambitions to fruition, especially if one was actively being thwarted in one way or another. It’s one thing to simply be distracted, it’s another thing to have every resolution you attempt actively end in failure for reasons not entirely within your control.

That's to say nothing of the bright eyed optimism which many of us (myself included) bring to the table on this day, only to get ruthlessly dunked on by the universe in short order. If fate is particularly kind, maybe you'll get a few days of peace before business and life reminds us that it does not particularly care what year it is. Maybe longer. But it'll remind you, and you'll feel it. You'll get what you get, you can be thankful or not, and it really doesn't matter for its purposes.

With that said, I don't think of the resolutions and resets as a bad ritual to at least consider. The holiday is supposed to represent a reboot of sorts, and a time for reflection. What could have done better, what might be useful or interesting going forward, etc. Yes, you can do that on any and every day and perhaps you should but sometimes a bit of external prompting has value.

I enjoy stalking my enemies and enacting dark rituals to unmake them in ways which the human mind is scarcely able to comprehend, let alone endure. I would like to do that year-round, but I tend to get bogged down in the miniate of life. I have paperwork to file, I have tea to drink, I have books to read, and heavy things to pick up. With that said, you best believe that around Halloween I'm reflecting on the topic very deeply as I focus on bringing Taregetizcailnil of The Trillion Woes into the mortal plane so that my foes can gaze upon the unending beauty and tragedy of its ethereal form which shall scar their souls to the end of days.

Point is, we're all fairly busy and things we should do are not always things we will do. I occasionally like to look at a holiday as a type of pondering orb around a particular topic myself. I'll also admit that most of my resolutions tend to be centered around things I'm already very very disposed towards. I tend to be fairly satisfied with the things I already do, and would like to do more of them. Of by some stroke of fate I am unable to do so, it is unfortunate, but it be like that sometimes. With that said, I tend to count ‘still doing, even not as much as I would prefer' as a victory-ish scenario, barring some extreme reduction in capacity or the like.

As for the resolutions I'm a bit less disposed towards, I tend to give myself some slack and although I hold them in mind fairly often, I’m generally not going to write the year off as a waste if I fail to enact them. I actually don't even remember the ones from the previous years outside of ‘keep being awesome', which I assume is what they are, because it's sounds like something I would plan.

I'm basically saying that I like my resolutions to be non-binding, as it were. I feel anyone who read to this point is groaning at that almost pun. You shouldn't be, that was artistry and you should be happy you got to read it.

I was going to send this out last year (ready, 12 hours ago) but I got busy, but I already started writing, so here we go.

Happy New Years

P.S: My resolutions all center around the Hermit Arts, and I will not elaborate further.