I don’t want to sound like a New Year’s Grinch (I love the holiday) but please don’t ask your friends about their New Year’s resolutions. It's invasive and forces people to confess something negative about themselves. Why? Because people usually resolve to stop bad habits—and who wants to tell you theirs? Nobody wants to bring to your attention that they’re overweight, that they drink too much, watch too much TV, waste scads of time on Facebook, or don’t floss. Asking someone their resolutions is like inquiring, “What terrible things have you been doing that you want to stop—and haven’t been able to so far?”

Or it’s submitting them to an inquisition: “What good things do you feel you should be doing that so far you’ve been a total failure at?” 

If you’re unfortunate enough that someone asks YOU the question, here’s a good way to wriggle out of it. Smile and tell them, “Every year I make a resolution to change myself . . . This year I’m making a resolution to be myself!” Happy New Year!

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