According to new research conducted by the fitness company Strava, 80 percent of people who make New Year's resolutions will have abandoned them by mid-February.
We get it. Beach body dreams that seem possible during the magical holiday season can seem unrealistic when January reality sets in. Count us among those who have already chosen sleep over exercise this year. So if you're one of millions of Americans who find themselves right-sizing those resolutions this week, we'd like to offer five simple, attainable alternatives for making yourself and your city better in 2020:
• Resolve to know your neighbors. Being a good neighbor is a powerful prevention for so many of the problems that plague us: loneliness, fear, suspicion, crime. Isolation and loneliness are real and potent threats to a healthy society. Separated by our safety features, our gated communities, our rear-entry garages and our flickering screens, we are less likely than ever to know the people who live nearest to us.
• Resolve to make your voice heard. This is an election year. Go vote. Resolve to look for other ways to participate in civic affairs, too. Attend a public hearing. Write a letter to the editor.
• Resolve to help someone else. Support a charity. Join a PTO. Serve those in need.
• Resolve to enjoy beauty. Visit a park, or take in art and cultural opportunities such as an orchestra, museum, ballet or musical.
• Resolve to stay informed. Thomas Jefferson wrote that, "Wherever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their own government."
There are 49 weeks left in 2020. Plenty of time to try out some new resolutions to make yourself and your community better than before.
Editorial on 01/22/2020