Know (how to BS) thyself

Published January 2, 2026 3:10am ET



I have reached the age where my New Year’s resolutions arrive pre-broken. I know which ones will fail, roughly when they will fail, and what excuses I will make afterward. I will not lose the weight, I will not get up early, I will not meditate in the morning, I will not file columns on time. And I will not — this I know with particular certainty — stop telling small white lies to get out of social obligations I don’t want to keep. A person with real integrity would resolve to stop doing that in 2026. I am not that person.

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