Every year on Dec. 31, people around the world make plans for the upcoming year. For a lot of people, their New Year's resolutions focus on their weight, quitting smoking, and just health goals in general.I also make resolutions. I like the idea of having goals going into a new year. Getting rid of my bad habits seems so simple at the end of December. All I have to do is say that "Well, I'm done biting my nails forever" and the NYE gods will make it so.Because that's how resolutions work, right? They're like magic wishes and one only needs to will them into existence. It's like an unlimited number of wishes to be granted by a genie found at the bottom of a bottle. I'm not sure what kind of bottle exactly, that depends on what you're drinking.Oh wait, no. As much as we'd all like to believe that NYE gives us all the magic ability to change our lives for the better, it seems like more resolutions don't see February than actually succeed.So why do we keep making them year after year?My theory is that we're optimists. Each new year looks like a fresh start and we all want to believe that we're capable of huge improvements that we aren't able to make during the year.Like my nail biting. Every New Year's Eve for a decade, I swore to myself that I'd never chew off another fingernail again. And it wasn't long before I was nail-less. But I've had fingernails for two-and-a-half years now - want to know what made me change? It wasn't a resolution made at the end of a year. It was a bet, a challenge that I wouldn't be able to quit. And being stubborn and competitive, I quit cold turkey, and I've never looked back.So maybe that's what it takes: a challenge, not a fresh start. Someone telling you it's not possible.So ... if that's the case, wouldn't it make sense to make resolutions Dec. 30? Everyone knows it's impossible to make a huge change on the last day of the year; that's what New Year's Eve is for, right? Going against the norm, refusing to do what everyone else does, that's making your resolution a challenge. Maybe that's the secret!Or maybe it just works if you want to quit biting your nails.Tonaya Marr wrote this column while she watched the Canada-Russia game in the World Juniors. Yup. If you want to get hold of Tonaya, e-mail her at [email protected], or tweet her on Twitter @tellemarr. But don't tweet her anything about the hockey game; she's read enough whining to last her until next year's tournament.
