It's that time again. The air is cold, the holidays have passed, and the gyms are bustling. This particular New Years is more unique in the fact that it is not just the start of a new year, but a new decade. However, this only spurs on the usual traditions more than usual. You know what I'm talking about. Right after gorging themselves both physically and financially during the holidays, everyone becomes inspired to better themselves through New Year's resolutions. These promises to oneself can be anything from starting a workout regime to not skipping class every Friday like fall semester. Now, it is easy to scoff at these so-called resolutions. But that is the opposite of what I am trying to do.

For every person with New Year's resolutions, you have someone who refuses to even make any on the fact that they "won't keep up with them anyway." To each his own, but the type of person who really gets to me is the 'Negative Nancy' who says that about other people as well. Just the other day I was talking with a group of friends on this very subject and one person was discussing her new class schedule and how she was going to fit in visits to the gym. Just about that time, 'Nancy' felt the need to pipe up and proclaim how they knew she was going to stick to the schedule for a month tops before falling back into old habits. Most of the group was stunned into silence before the first girl simply said "We'll see," and the conversation continued.

Here's the thing. You can be a pessimistic person. I often am myself. But the moment you allow that pessimism to roll over into another person's enthusiasm, you have gone too far. Will most resolutions made this January fall through before April? Most likely. But that isn't what matters. What matters is those four months (or days) of improvement first. Because even if you don't live up to the standard set by yourself, you can still pickup smaller habits.

Maybe you promised to eat only salad for lunch everyday. Not exactly possible, but maybe you learn that you really like it when you use spinach and boiled egg. Boom. You're eating salad more often than before, even if it isn't every day. Or let's say you promised to stop procrastinating all year. Old habits die hard though, and you find yourself pushing back self-made deadlines by March. Not the best thing ever, but in those three months you saw how much easier certain things were with more time. So when it comes to big projects you don't wait quite as long, and you're already somewhat ahead because you didn't wait before.

You see, you don't have to be perfect in your resolutions. Though it can be disheartening to see yourself slipping back, it is that disappointment that can act as an incentive to continue on. And it is through at least trying new things that one can learn more about themselves and change from there. So when it comes to your New Year's resolutions, be realistic and kind to yourself. Just remember: any amount of time spent bettering yourself is great. You know what isn't great? Putting others down. So if you are a 'Nancy'...well, it sounds like someone needs to make a resolution.