February 7th, 2014

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As many have done before, and just as many will do in the future, we have sat down in January to write down or at least think about some resolutions for the coming year. Did you make any this year? Is this what you usually do in January, once you have recovered from the holiday festivities?

This custom seems to have started with the ancient Babylonians who engaged in rituals to banish the past and purify themselves for the new year – they would also promise to return borrowed objects and pay their debts. This used to happen in March until the Romans started to follow the custom by making promises to Janus, the two-faced god who looked backwards into the old year and forwards into the new year. That’s how the custom changed to the month of January, named after Janus (even though it took most of Europe until the late 16th century to recognise January 1 as the start of the year instead of April 1).

Last year in January, I wrote a new year’s column regarding re-training: trying out something new and doing a career detox. I also mentioned that we were planning to start a new course for people to become Montessori teachers. Maybe that was one way for me to make public a resolution that I had and to make myself accountable to Copenhagen Post readers.

Well, it seems to have worked, as that’s one goal that has come to fruition. The course is definitely starting this year, so I’m thrilled about that. None of my other resolutions have happened, and I actually don’t remember what they all were, so maybe this is a lesson for me. I should probably mention in this column that I want to start more Montessori preschools and that I would like to visit at least two new countries before the end of the year – hopefully these things will all happen too! Good, I have now written it all down, so all I have to do now is wait until it all happens.

My advice to you is not to give up on your previous years’ unrealised resolutions and, like the Babylonians, you could maybe give yourself until March to really think about them all. Most importantly, write everything down and maybe you’ll chance upon reading them again during the year as a reminder of what you are aiming for. Good luck.