A Year Then Forever: Personal Resolution Making and the Temporal Bridge of the Near Future

Based on in-depth interviews and drawing exercises with 25 resolution makers, this paper explores the use of time in structuring and enacting improvement projects of the self. Resolutions are intentional, identity-laden moments when people bring the future into the present. They provide a window int...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Symbolic interaction 2020-05, Vol.43 (2), p.332-355
Main Author: Mullaney, Jamie L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
emotion
Identity
near future
Optimism
Prospects
resolutions
temporal bridge
Time
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Summary:Based on in-depth interviews and drawing exercises with 25 resolution makers, this paper explores the use of time in structuring and enacting improvement projects of the self. Resolutions are intentional, identity-laden moments when people bring the future into the present. They provide a window into the identity work of the “near future”—an underresearched but fascinating site where individuals transition between what they see as an immediate, controllable future to a more distant one that is less certain. In attempt to mitigate the emotionally and cognitively daunting prospects of the distant future, resolution makers enlist time as a form of capital, constructing the “temporal bridge” of the near future by engaging in three interrelated processes: structuring and remembering, being flexible, and maintaining optimism.
ISSN:0195-6086
1533-8665
DOI:10.1002/symb.455