UNcommon Sense: New Year

A fresh start. This is the promise many people cling to as the clock strikes midnight on December 31st each year. Many Americans gather together in a group to celebrate while others sit in front of their TVs. The celebration culminates as they watch a giant lighted ball descend while everyone counts down from 10. Everyone yells, "Happy New Year" and then some try to pretend they actually know all the words to the song Auld Lang Syne. I certainly don't know the lyrics to it but I do pretend just like everyone else. Interestingly enough, the song comes from a Scottish poet, Robert Burns, and it is about old friends drinking and reminiscing about adventures of the past. It doesn't reference anything about a new beginning but it has been engrained in our culture as the anthem for a new year.

One of the most common American traditions is the new year's resolution. Most resolutions have a lifespan of about a week. Unfazed by this clear lack of sustained success, many of us optimistically establish a new one with the hope, this year, we will be able to stick to it. I have successfully finished a few resolutions over my lifetime. In the end, it became more about the compulsion to keep it than the benefits I hoped to achieve from setting the goal. As I have gotten older, I found an easy way for new year's resolutions to be met. I stole this from concept from an old cartoon series called "Calvin and Hobbes".

It is about a little boy, Calvin, with a big imagination, and friend, Hobbes, who happens to be a stuffed tiger. In one series of the cartoon, Calvin, tells Hobbes how he found a way to not disappoint anyone ever again. Hobbes suggests that means Calvin would now be working very hard and always doing his best. Calvin rejects that idea and instead says the key is to set very low expectations. Hobbes then replies, "So the secret to good self-esteem is to lower your expectations to the point where they are already met?" To which Calvin replies, "Right! We should take pride in our mediocrity."

Undoubtedly, we could all be successful with keeping New Year's resolutions if we followed Calvin's plan. While we would be able to say we had kept our commitment, it really wouldn't have much meaning. Setting bold goals comes with risk and a commitment to hard work. These are two qualities that are a tough sell. Ask someone if they want to be successful and reach their potential as a spouse, parent, student, or employee and in almost every response you will get a yes.

Explain to someone what it will take to be successful and reach their potential in those areas and you will immediately get a large amount of back peddling. I am not sure why that is the case, but I see it more often these days. A new year is an opportunity for a fresh start. It is not too late to commit to being a better spouse, parent, student, or employee. If you decide to set a goal in one of those areas, don't be like Calvin.

Life is too precious to accept mediocre. In my experience it has been better to set bold goals and fall a little short than it would have been to set too easy of a goal just so I had a guarantee to meet it. At Marlow Public Schools, we hope to teach our students to dream big and we commit to doing everything we can to support those students chase of their goals. I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and a wonderful 2024.