What Comes Next?

Well, it's official. It is now 2017. I'm sure many of us are breathing a big sigh of relief that 2016 is over (finally). It was a turbulent year, with many ups and downs. But what is done is done, and now we can move forward. And certainly, many people are moving forward, or at least making plans to, to improve themselves as people. Yes, it's once again the time of New Year's Resolutions.

Every year, millions of people resolve (either to themselves or to others) that they are going to do better this year. Eat right, exercise more, cut down on the drinking, finish writing that book, or any of the other thousands of things that people vow to do over the course of the coming year. Will they be successful? Probably not; some will succeed, most will fail.

It is important to be realistic when setting a goal. Once the initial thrill of (the idea of) self-improvement wears off, the task at hand may prove to be more challenging than originally thought. It is more than most people can handle; they set their sights too high, and realize that they are in over their heads way too late. The resolution has failed, and they fall back upon their old ways, possibly indulging even more than before the resolution was made, in an attempt to dull the sting of failure.

All too often, it is a case of too much too soon. Our brains reject any major life changes on their own. If changes are to be made, they must be done gradually, so that one can become accustomed to the adjustments. Most people either don't know that or won't accept it; they want to see fast results, and because of that, they end up failing.

So then why do we keep doing it? There is no one specific reason, rather, several reasons with people draw from in varying amounts. It does give some guidance and direction to our lives. There is a certain amount of smug self-satisfaction that goes with the idea of self-improvement, especially in some people more than others. But I think the greatest contributing factor is that of hope. The hope that this year will be different. The hope that it will work, that we will make it work.

The hope that things will be better.