Time has no divisions to mark its passage. There is never a thunderstorm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins, it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols.

 —Thomas Mann

Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

 —Brooks Atkinson

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

— Bill Vaughan

Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever.

—Mark Twain

Now there are more overweight people in America that average-weight. So overweight people are now average. Which means you’ve met your New Year’s resolution.

 —Jay Leno

A new year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.

 — anonymous

We spend January 1 walking through the rooms of our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives … not looking for flaws, but for potential.

 —Ellen Goodman

No matter what the ruin of any life may be there is always a place to start. There is a place where you must begin. You need to apologize to someone. You need to go to somebody and straighten something out. You need to stop some practice that is wrong. You need to open yourself up to counsel. You need to seek advice. You need to get some guidance. There is always a first step. That is where you must begin.

 —Ray C. Stedman

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language / And next year’s words await another voice. / And to make an end is to make a beginning.

— T.S. Eliot