New Year's resolutions

What was left undone in 2024 – and is still waiting…

Eat healthier! A New Year's resolution that many people make - and soon forget.

(Bild: Roman Möbius, stock.adobe.com)

Every year we flagellate ourselves with new New Year's resolutions. But the truth is that we would have enough to do if we finally took care of the things that have been left behind. A recycling of resolutions.

Live healthily
We only have one life, yet we do pretty much everything we can to get it over with as quickly as possible. We eat chips, schnitzel and meatloaf, drink alcohol in huge quantities and fire off at least one sugar bomb every day. Fitness center, yoga, a walk? Certainly not! The body needs all the energy it can get to digest! On the other hand, there are spindly yogis who can still cross their legs behind their necks at the age of a hundred. They seem to feed on the sun's rays and float in the water of sacred rivers like freshly fallen ginkgo leaves. So the choice is really easy...

Renounce evil
What do the Catholics say? "I renounce evil ..." Yes, if it were that easy! Not everyone lives in glamorous cosmopolitan cities like New York. So of course it's tempting to have the big city delivered to your home at the click of a mouse. But wait! Evil has a name: not Orbán, Putin or Trump, no, Amazon! Even admittedly well-made TV commercials in which parcels with gentle smiles inspire confidence cannot hide the fact that Amazon simply does not pay taxes. Can you feel it? Amazon employees and retailers certainly do.

Less narcissism
The well-known forensic expert and psychiatrist Reinhard Haller believes that we are living in the "age of narcissism". We believe he is right - and not just because cocaine will soon be consumed in household quantities similar to powdered sugar at Christmas. One look at Facebook, Instagram or YouTube is enough: The focus is on the self. But there is so much else that would be worth reporting on! However, the hashtag "#memyselfandi" is recommended for the incorrigible. And the New Year's resolutions? Without me!

Serenity
What has become very fashionable recently has now grown into a nerve-wracking discipline. Which brings us to the topic: Indignation, grievance and the feeling of being generally disadvantaged have developed into a real hobby. What ever happened to enjoyable activities such as fly fishing (vegans might feel offended) or collecting politically incorrect jokes (everyone might feel offended)? It simply has to be said: The constant nagging and being offended is terribly annoying. There's only one thing to do: breathe in. And breathe out again.

Tidy up the cellar
Of course, it's easier and a little more comfortable to lie on the sofa and think about what you should change in your life. What do you hold on to, what do you let go of, where are you hesitant, where are you firmly convinced? Well, in reality, considerations like these are just one thing: the perfect excuse to avoid having to go down to the basement and finally sort out the enormous accumulation of ugly, useless, bulky and broken things. Now is always the best time: there's bound to be another Christmas present that should end up in the bulky waste bin, but has to go back into the cellar due to insufficiently trained hard-heartedness...