Page 14
Features
Jan. 23, 2002
New Years’ resolutions originated with the Babylonians
Brittany Dunlap
Reporter
The real question some of us ask on
New Year’s Day is who can we blame. Who
came up with the idea of New Year’s resolu
tions? The idea of New Year’s resolutions
date back over four thousand years to the
Babylonians. The Babylonians believed that
what a person does on their first day of the
New Year will have an effect throughout the
entire year. More recently New Year’s
has been considered a time for looking
back to the past, but also, looking for
ward to the coming year. New Year’s
is a time to reflect on how you have
changed and ways you want or
need to change. For those of you
who got a late start and did not
make a resolution, I found an es
cape clause. Start anew in March. That
is, after all when the Babylonians cel
ebrated the New Year.
Tips For Achieving Success
Are you determined that this
year will be different than all the
rest? That this year, you will actu
ally keep those New Year’s resolu
tions? If that is the case then I have
some tips for you. First of all, don’t
do everything all at once. Remember when
you were a child, before you could walk to
have to crawl and before you could run you
have to walk? The same goes with New
Year’s resolutions. There is always the temp
tation to be the overachiever and attempt ev
erything on the long list that you created for
yourself. Narrow down the list, you will have
more success fulfilling one or two goals
rather than twenty-five. You can always add
more resolutions to your list as the year
progresses.
Secondly, remember to word your reso
lutions carefully. If
you
the computer.” Make the resolution more spe
cific by narrowing down to specific programs
that you want to learn to use. By making your
resolutions more specific than stress will be
reduced and you will still think of the idea as
something you want to do, not have to do.
Finally, write it down. Putting anything
on paper has more significance
than just reminding yourself
mentally. Stick the paper on your
desk, on the refrigera-
\
make broad sweeping statements, then there
is more room for exceptions and error. Don’t
say, “This year I am going to relax more” Say
something like, “This year I’m going to ex
plore different ways of relaxing.” Or if your
resolution is, “I’m going to learn how to use
tor, microwave etc., anywhere that you will
see it on a daily basis. Don’t be afraid to
change the wording as the year progresses
either. Naturally, things change.
What the Internet Has to Offer
And, when things change, there is always
money to made. Internet companies have
already begun trying to make money off of
the resolutions of others. For $9.95 a month,
www.mygoals.com will give customers a
plan, timetable and online coaching for the
most common resolutions such as losing
weight to starting a new business. The site
even offers a free 30-day trial.
If spending money isn’t your style,
www.hiaspire.com/newyear
will send you a monthly re
minder by e-mail to keep up
with your new
resolution.The site offers a
complete list of resolutions,
including “Be a better person
in general.”
For general tips on keep
ing resolutions, visit
www.how-to-keep-your-
new-years-resolution.com/
html/common.html.
Founder Fred Kelley of
www.quitsmoking.com of
fers a nonsmoking site, com
plete with articles and free
e-mail newsletters.
For those who can’t knock
off those pounds and aren’t in
terested in visiting their local
Weight Watchers, www.weightwatchers.com
will help you for a sign-up fee of $29.95 and a
monthly fee of $14.95.
All information provided may be found
at the following website: http://www.how-
to-keep-your-new-years-resolutions.com
XKW YMirS
KKSOLIJTIOXS
1) Stop smoking
2) Lose the freshman 15
3) Get more involved.
4) Join The Pendulum
staff.
We will help you meet at
least one of your resolu
tions. E-mail
pendulum@elon.edu or
come by Moseley 233.
Unlikely alliances possible in magazine world
Cosmopolitan, the racy
magazine for women, and
IMaxim, the racy magazine
for men, have consum
mated an unlikely alliance,
and will share a feature
story ("The War Between
the Sexes ... Is Over") in
their March issues. That
got our newspaper's Sub
committee on Strange
Journalism Bedfellows
thinking of some other
possibilities:
-Field & Stream and
Martha Stewart: "How to
Stuff Your Trophy Trout and
Turn It Into a Fabulous Wed
ding Centerpiece."
-The New Yorker and
Plumbing News: "Draining
Your Septic Tank, a Poem by
John Updike."
-Opera News and Playboy:
"The Girls of La Sea la."
-Brill's Content and Busi
ness Week: "Failure, One
Man's Tale."
-Guns & Ammo and Vogue:
"The Full Metal Jacket Look for
Fall."
-Good Housekeeping and
Soldier of Fortune: "Win
ning the Battle Against
Household Pests."
-Dog Fancy and The
Weekly Standard:
"Buddy, the Clinton Dog:
How and Why "Slick Willie"
had him silenced."
-Entertainment Weekly
and High Times: "A Very
Special Robert Downey Jr.
Tribute Issue."
Chicago Tribune
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services ^