Practice abstinence in 2011
According to an article I just read, an estimated 100 million Americans make the mental commitment to change something about their life as the calendar year changes. That number doesn’t surprise me because isn’t that what people are expected to do? Furthermore, I wasn’t shocked to learn that four out of five of those resolution-makers don’t stick to their resolution.
Well that’s no shocker either! I’m not ashamed to say I’ve been in that majority many times and you probably have too. It’s very easy to make a resolution but by March, if you’re lucky, maintaining it is like trying to keep a child quiet in a toy store!
So this year, when my son asked me a few days before we bid 2010 farewell, what my resolutions were, I didn’t really have anything to tell him. You see, I had already made my mind up not to make any resolutions. I’m sure you’re surprised—yes, me, going against the norm. Now there’s a shocker!
He really didn’t like that answer and kept insisting that I just didn’t want to tell him what my New Year’s resolutions were. I repeatedly told him I was not making any promises to myself because (one) I didn’t want to break them and (two—and more importantly) I just didn’t see the need to make a life-changing decision just because the calendar year was ending.
My 15-year-old dude wasn’t amused. In true teenage fashion, he continued to dig for information. He told me what he planned on doing in 2011 and we discussed his choices. I might add that he made some good resolutions but yet, I wasn’t convinced that I needed to make one or more resolutions. I reminded him that those so-called resolutions could have been made any day, any month of the year. And, in fact, he agreed, but added that he figured since Jan. 1 was hours away, he’d put them into effect now.
As a new song came on the VW’s satellite radio, the resolution subject faded away. It was brought up again as the clock ticked closer to midnight on New Year’s Eve, but I still didn’t falter from my decision.
My choice to not make resolutions is not because I feel that I don’t need to change. That is far from the reason. I came across the following quote from Mark Twain a few months ago and it stuck with me because I really see no use to make resolutions just because the calendar year is changing. “New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions.”
I’ve lived my life, or at least I’ve tried to live everyday of my life, the best I can. While I certainly am not perfect, (if you are, let me know because I need to meet you and find out how you do that) I think resolutions or, as I like to call them, Life Changes, can be made at anytime of the year. I’m not going to wait around until Dec. 31 to decide to do something. While I have a long list of LC’s that I’m currently struggling to maintain daily, I am aware of my successes and failures throughout the year. Waiting until I’ve indulged in a festive holiday season and then decide to “buckle down” on life to live the right way just because January 2011 has begun is silly. That’s like telling a child that he can’t play with matches and then give him a lighter for New Year’s Day.
So by now, you’re probably asking yourself, so what? And you’re thinking, I’ve made a New Year’s resolution and I intend on keeping it. Ann doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I’m that 20 percent that keeps a resolution.
Well, if that’s you, I congratulate you and say, “Well done.” But for the rest of us semi-normal, groovy humans who struggle with what life throws at us, I offer this quote from Jean Paul Richter, a German writer from the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. (Yes, even old German guys have words of wisdom!) “Every man regards his own life as the New Year’s Eve of time.”
Take a moment to think about that. We never know what tomorrow will throw at us. I challenge you to make everyday the best it can be. Don’t wait until Dec. 31, 2011, to make your next resolution. If you need it, make a Life Change now—do it now.