Thursday, March 28, 2024

Resolutions dont have to be self-serving

January 9, 2001

The meaning of a new year is different for a lot of people. For most, it is a time for clean slates, and the ultimate time to stop bad habits and better ourselves. It’s funny - I watch my best friends and family vow they won’t touch another cigarette, eat another Krispy Kreme, and they will run that marathon come spring.

I find the best-kept resolutions are ones made at 11:49 p.m. on Dec. 31 - so I modify my behavior until the next year. This works brilliantly.

But, in lieu of beating the system, I felt inadequate as 2001 was in full swing. For one, my birthday is the second week of the year, and every year as I age another number, I tend to reflect on what the previous year held, and what I want to accomplish in the next one.

Driving back to East Lansing, I realized something: this year I had not just a New Year’s resolution - I had a New Year’s revelation.

What is funny about the promises we try to make to ourselves at the beginning of the year is that they are often self-related. We rarely make resolutions to change things about other people, or the environment in which we live. Shopping for holiday gifts, I met someone that helped me see the wonder the holiday season offered.

She was standing in the doorway of the mall with more than 15 bags of presents from a toy store, and she was waiting for her car to be brought to her. I made a comment to her on how lucky her children were, and she replied she didn’t have any.

This woman had called a local radio station and asked for a family that was in need during the holiday season, and found one with six children. She went out and bought outfits, toys and food for this family.

But that was not even the amazing part. She told me that she was just going to drop off the gifts at the radio station. The family would not know who she is, or any information about her.

I asked her how she thought about doing something, and her response - a simple “because I can” - was more powerful than the three words she said.

Because she could.

How many things can I do that I don’t?

And then, driving up to MSU, my revelation hit.

While the holidays are often known as the giving season, the new year is the time for self-improvement. Radio promotions try to sell gym memberships, and diet companies push their “fool-proof” plans. They claim “make this the year you stick to your resolution,” or “do it for yourself.”

I was almost angry with the selfishness I saw in our society. Now that the giving season is over, we tend to focus back on ourselves. While it is important to keep ourselves healthy and happy, part of this happiness can come from other methods of improvement. There are many other ways to have fun than running on a treadmill.

My revelation - with the clean slate the new year offers us - is to try to mark it up with things done for other people.

With this, I am going to start with my own friends. This year, I am going to try to help my friends stick to their own New Year’s resolutions, and, in return, I hope they will also see the full effect giving can hold. Not just actual giving of items, but donating time and energy to a cause other than one’s own.

This will ignite the “holiday spirit” well into the new year.

While the season may be over, the warmth it holds can continue. Showing other people the effort you want to put into their lives will inspire them to do it for others. Friendships can be strengthened and self-esteem will be heightened.

Although a resolution of “world peace” is not exactly feasible, working to fix a piece of our world is not.

Simple things, like taking a sad friend out to lunch, or helping a co-worker through times of stress are a way to start. Then, the possibilities are endless. If your friend’s resolution is to lose weight, go to the gym with her. If your roommate wants to quit smoking, don’t buy a pack in front of them.

It’s all about unselfishness. Small acts for other people. I can guarantee that this can be the year you “stick to your resolution.” Giving small amounts of your time is a lot easier than saying no to Krispy Kreme doughnuts - unless your sad friend you are taking out to lunch is also on a diet.

Then drastic measures may need to be taken. Don’t eat them in large quantities.

Rachel Wright, State News administration reporter, can be reached at wrightr9@msu.edu.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Resolutions dont have to be self-serving” on social media.