Good for only three days?
By Park Moo-jong
As in the previous years, the year of 2014 saw event after event both at home and abroad.
Another morning has broken. As before, people wish for a happy New Year with less hardship.
Without exception, people, as they used to ― and still ― do, make New Year resolutions to start doing something good and stop doing something bad.
Such a resolution is a promise that we make to ourselves to perform an act of self-improvement and something better, such as being kinder to other people.
Accompanied by the New Year resolution without few exceptions is a Chinese four-character phrase, pronounced as "jak-sim-sam-il (作心三日).
Literally translated into English, this means that "one makes up his mind (to do something) but it lasts only three days.'' In short, it suggests "good for just three days."
A 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88 percent of those who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52 percent of the study's participants were confident of success (Wikipedia).
Indeed, we start off our work very well from the first day of the year, but fizzle out after about a week.
Some joke: "Nothing is easier than living up to the resolutions. Today is the second day of the New Year. If you fail the day after tomorrow to keep the promise, make another resolution and do it over and over for 365 days throughout the year."
Common goals of ordinary people are certainly quitting smoking, going to the gym to lose weight and get fit, learning something new (mostly English and Chinese) and drinking less among others.
On top of this year's resolutions must be kicking the deadly habit of smoking. This typical kind of resolution that used to be kept for three days faces a big chance this year to continue through 2015.
The price of a pack of cigarettes soared by 2,000 won (about $1.8) uniformly, regardless of the brand. The hike is, no doubt, aimed at discouraging smoking, a habit which does more harm than good. Still, the increased price is much cheaper than those in Western countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
Furthermore, smokers have less places to light up from Thursday due to the smoking ban at "all" dining places. So far, smoking had been allowed at relatively small restaurants. The authorities are even considering a no-smoking policy on the street.
What a great chance to live up to the promise to yourself, thus to save money and to be free from the deadly habit!
What comes next must be losing weight. Recent surveys show that about 30 percent of the entire world population or 2.1 billion out of 7.2 billion is overweight.
Of course, this resolution needs other's help, especially physicians and personal trainers. But it cannot be overemphasized that success or failure depends on the will of each person.
There are also many good tips in the newspapers. For instance, The Korea Times' biweekly column "Balance your body" by Dr. Lee Sung-hun shows how to lose weight and keep it. (Click www.koreatimes.co.kr and type "high intensity interval training").
His prescription is quite simple: reduce input and increase output by burning calories with workouts. Many complain that they do not know the basics or how to translate these into actions. Be a town crier to let the people around you know your goal.
To learn English is another regular resolution in any New Year. Many people make the same promise every year. The problem is that they are too impatient to reach the goal line.
Many also lament they are too old to start. But they should know age does not matter in learning English.
Former President Kim Dae-jung (1925-2009) was well known for his English proficiency. But he started learning English at the age of 49 when he was in a prison cell. He wrote in his autography that he tussled over The Korea Times, and noted "there was no royal road to learning English." His advice was "you can do it."
At the start of the New Year, we look back on the previous year and more importantly forward to the days ahead.
Looking back at the past year when more sad and bad news hurt people than in other years, the morale and discipline of our society seriously declined due to the worsening lack of a law-abiding spirit, and the selfishness of interest groups.
Bribery cases and scandalous affairs involving tycoons made honest citizens sad. The public are increasingly losing confidence in the government, not to mention the ill-functioning National Assembly.
Now is the very time for the nation to make New Year resolutions to make this society a safer place to live in, and to tide over the deteriorating economic difficulties.
Who should be in the vanguard of this crusade?
They are undisputedly government officials and National Assembly members.
Both in the East and West, government officials are called "public servants." Their basic role is to "serve" the people today and vice versa.
The officials have to make a New Year resolution both for themselves and the people. It is not a difficult job for them to live up to the resolution: Just become a servant to the people and put themselves in their shoes. The reward is the full restoration of ebbing government authority. They have to admit that the people's precious taxes feed them and their families.
More urgent is the resolution of the distinguished National Assemblymen. Their given role is legislation as they are called lawmakers or legislators. In reality, many people suspect they might have forgotten what their job is. Some even argue that they are not lawmakers but law-breakers.
They are the representatives of the people chosen in a public poll. The voters elected them, so that they work for the public, society and the nation.
What they have done until now is enough to make voters question whether such an apparatus (the parliament) is indeed necessary.
They are the very group to make a New Year resolution: not to devote themselves only to their own political gains and those of their parties, but instead to make every effort to do their job ― legislative activities to enable the people to live in a safer and better society.
When we attain reasonable goals, we feel euphoric and what a wonderful sense of fulfillment and pride that is! Yet, we don't need to be discouraged with the failed resolutions that were good for three days.
Experience tells us how difficult it is to live up to promises made to ourselves.
The fact we made the resolutions at the start of a New Year is important in itself.
A resolution good for three days can be rather good because three days can at some point become 365 days.
The writer is The Korea Times advisor. Contact him at
.