A new year is less than a week away. A new year means new goals and millions of new year’s resolutions, most of which we all know are unreasonable and doomed to fail before they begin. Others might last for a few days, even weeks in some instances, but the majority will never come to fruition for one simple reason: resolutions are hard to keep.

Working toward a new year’s resolution is a long road paved by gym memberships, unread books, and boxes full of unused nicotine patches. The problem is that people think they are like a light switch; that they can change their health patterns, mind sets and daily rituals at the blink of an eye. It’s not an impossible task, mind you, but let’s not sugar coat the likelihood. For most people, resolutions are made to be broken. It’s a dumb age-old tradition they follow with the hope of bettering themselves but ultimately, they fall short.

Of course this isn’t to say new year’s resolutions are a bad thing. Most of them are made with good intent (few people vow to gain weight, smoke more and kick the nasty habit of reading too much). Certainly there’s nothing wrong with self-improvement, but “improving” overnight might be something to consider and unfortunately, careful planning and consideration is a technicality when it comes to new year’s resolutions. We all know that a majority of resolutions are made on a last-minute whim, propelled by peer pressure and alcohol on new year’s eve.

That said, I haven’t made any resolutions of my own this year, mainly because I know myself well enough to say I wouldn’t keep them. In 2010, I vowed to take up a new hobby of amateur woodworking. Now, I have three unfinished projects in storage and a whole lot of nails and wood glue taking up valuable space in my one bedroom apartment. And in 2009, I vowed to eat healthier foods ... I microwaved a can of spaghettios for lunch on January 2nd.