Toastmasters New Year’s Resolution

According to Wikipedia, a New Year’s resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behaviour, to accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve their life. Who started this custom and why?

The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honour of the new year, which was held in mid-March, when crops were planted. The Babylonians crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning king during 12-day religious festival known as Akitu, where they made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. These promises could be considered the forerunners of our New Year’s resolutions.

A similar practice occurred in ancient Rome, when Julius Caesar tinkered with the calendar and established January 1 as the beginning of the new year in circa 46 B.C. The month was named after Janus, the two-faced god whose spirit inhabited doorways and arches. Believing that Janus symbolically looked backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future, the Romans offered sacrifices to the deity and made promises of good conduct for the coming year. For early Christians, the first day of the new year became the traditional occasion for thinking about one’s past mistakes and promising to do better in the future.

Today, we no longer make promises to the gods, but to ourselves – usually to kick our goals pertaining to self improvement. Yet, only 8% of us follow through. One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to learn a new skill or hobby. If you have been thinking about improving your communication skills and meeting like-minded people then there is no time like the present to join Toastmasters. Besides making new friends and working on a new skill, you will become more confident. Face your fears and insecurities surrounding public speaking. Give yourself the opportunity to use your free time in a constructive manner and pick up new skills while having fun at the same time.

Ready to keep that New Year’s Resolution? Why not join us this Tuesday at Picnic Point Toastmasters to start off your new year resolution?

We meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7pm at Club Picnic Point – 124 Lambeth Street, Panania.