Michael and I were talking about resolutions this morning as we walked. I did not make a resolutions this year, nor have I made one in previous years–in fact I don’t ever remember making a New Year’s Resolution.

It made me think about how strange they are, New Year’s Resolutions. Why? How did they come about? How many people really make them, mean them, and keep them?

The other day someone was saying something about making a change in their lives. “I’ll start in January; it’ll be my New Year’s Resolution,” they said. If it’s that important, why wait? Why not start right now? What is so special about the New Year that one would have to wait until then to make a life change?

It seems to me that the best time to resolve to do something is when you think about it: When the doctor tells you your cholesterol is high, or you get on the scale and realize that you’ve gained more weight than you thought, or when you decide you want something different for yourself.

I would think that far more important than making a resolution is finding someone to help you keep it. Tell people you’re trying to quit smoking. Let people know you’re trying to lose weight. It should do two things: It gives you people to support you in your decision (and maybe they’ll bring healthy snacks to work instead of doughnuts) but it also sets up expectations. You said it. You’ve made the pronouncement. Now if you go back you’ll be letting other people down, not just yourself.

But you don’t need the New Year to do that. We can make those changes whenever we think about it.

And maybe that’s why New Years is the time for resolutions. We take stock of where we’ve been and where we’re going. But is this too not something that we should do more than once a year?