As far back as I can remember, there was always a very important celebration in my household, one that seemingly gave everyone a chance to leave all the bad things from the passing year behind and look forward to the upcoming year with optimism, in a way that made it appear as if you could start from scratch all over again, but there was one catch: you had to make a New Year’s resolution in order for things to go your way.
One of the oldest traditions in the history of humankind is the New Year’s resolution, which, according to many experts in the field, has records that date all the way back to over 4,000 years ago.
Some say that the ancient Babylonians were the first to make New Year’s resolutions, as they are believed to have been the first ones to hold recorded celebrations of the new year, although for them, the year used to begin in the month of March. Others proclaim the Romans as the ones who started the tradition of beginning each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. One thing is certain, this tradition is most commonly found in the Western World, although there are some countries in the Eastern World that have adopted it.
The real purpose of the tradition, though, is for people to resolve continuing with their good practices, change an undesired trait or behavior, accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve their life at the start of the new year.
With the passing of time, however, the tradition seems to have been confused with the birthday wish, among many other things; some people even refuse to share their resolutions with others, thinking in a superstitious way that by doing that, their resolutions won’t come true. The problem with this notion is that the resolution is not a wish, it is in fact a commitment that the person makes with himself/herself or with others, so the ideal scenario would be for the person to let the commitment be known, so that it carries with it a real responsibility of making it become true. In other words, your New Year’s resolution is not supposed to be left to chance, it’s supposed to be something that you work for and really make an effort to achieve.
Among some of the most common New Year’s resolutions you can find losing weight, quit smoking, save money and, in Latin American countries, learning to speak the English language. Perhaps you are one of those people who have been procrastinating on this last resolution, as you’ve always known that speaking English can bring you many benefits, mostly of the economic, social and cultural nature.
If you’re serious about learning to speak English in this new year of 2021, then you would be hard-pressed to find a better option than KOE, which offers you the perfect formula to learn how to speak English with its Fast & Easy method. Give it a try and you’ll find that its innovative didactics and online services will make the experience an enjoyable one for you.
Remember, there can never be a more important New Year’s resolution than one that brings more opportunities to you professionally, which would lead you to have some stability for yourself and your loved ones. In the end, isn’t that what life is all about? So, what have you resolved for this new year?
Alfredo E. Clark.