Resolve

                That’s right everyone its midday on January 1^st  and 2016 has begun! Now how many of you have already hit snooze this morning even though you resolved to get up and work out? How many of you reached for a cigarette after lunch even though you vowed to put them down forever?

                Be honest, but don’t be mad- I am certainly not judging- I’m nowhere near qualified. As a matter of fact I actually hope to do 2 things in this post:  1) Tell you my feelings on New Year’s Resolutions 2) provide you with an alternative.

                First and foremost I have a secret to share with you. Come closer…closer…closer still. Ok, here it is:

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS ARE COMPLETE HORSESHIT!

                There I said it. Maybe it wasn’t really a secret because deep down everyone knows this already. The question is why exactly are they shit? However, answering this one isn’t difficult at all. The reason that New Year’s resolutions are shit is that no one wants to do them. That’s right, NO ONE. Anyone that is serious about setting and achieving a goal doesn’t wait until this supposed magical day January 1^st to begin. Think back through your life when have you ever been excited and passionate for trying anything, and then thought to yourself, “Hey you know what I should do is wait until next year to try this!”

                Never! That’s when.  And therein is why resolutions stockpiled for the New Year never end up working. You simply can’t take this new behavior (or endeavor) that is possibly life changing (and likely life improving) and expect everything to work out because it’s the first day of the new year.

                So I say screw New Year’s Resolutions and kick that New Year’s baby right in his fat diaper-covered ass!*

                Instead of making New Year’s Resolutions that will likely fizzle after a few weeks or even days, set yourself up for success. For instance, if you want to lose weight just resolve to change one thing about your day-to-day diet, like replacing a can of soda with a glass of water. If you’re trying to quit smoking, cut back on one cigarette a day. After success with that, increase the amount of the cut back, or rotate in another substitute item or behavior. Once you’ve gained enough confidence because of the success you have garnered with the smaller steps, you can continue to expand for as long as you like.

                Second to that, I’d also offer the idea of taking 2016 to create something- anything! Everyone has a talent, find yours and use it to create something, write a poem, build a model car, pen a song, paint a portrait.

                Have you always had the desire to bake a cake but never tried it? Go for it! Always wanted to make a dress? Give it a shot. Gardening, pottery- whatever it is – do it! But before you do a few words of advice; whatever it is you decide to do in 2016, enter into it with realistic expectations. Don’t  design and then make a dress thinking you are going to see that dress paraded down a red carpet on the body of some celebrity. Don’t think your cake is going to turn you into an over the night baking phenomenon that will lead to chain stores all across the country.  In fact, be prepared that your dress may end up looking like a two ply kite, and your cake may taste like cement mix (though likely your project will come out somewhere in between). But do yourself a favor, even if you don’t do so great on the first attempt, try it again, and then again! Because you will get better. It’s impossible not to.

                Most important, remember to have fun while creating.

                Well that’s all for this week, my sappy self help meter is now off the charts. I’ll leave you by saying Happy New Year, and thanks to all of you that read my writing from week to week- I absolutely love that you do.

*Note: author does not condone kicking actual babies, only proverbial ones.