by Alex Kent
How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions?
Every year, millions of people vow to accomplish something to improve themselves… something new that has been on their mind for a while – maybe years. We all know the favourites: lose weight, stop smoking, exercise more, get better grades, make more money… and every year, millions fail to keep their promise to themselves… right about this time of year – February.
I know; I’ve been one of them.
But this year, I think I have a better chance of achieving a New Year’s goal; instead of changing my entire lifestyle, which is what it would take to lose weight, I have been eating less of one food additive – sugar. I don’t intend to abandon it entirely, just cut back. I’m going to wean myself off of the offending substance slowly, and eventually I may be able to reset my palette.
My other plan is to set forward a singular goal – something more project oriented, like writing a letter to Congress or planting a tree. That way, I will have an entire year to figure out what its going to be, and twelve months to accomplish this thing. I will likely succeed because it’s more of an occasion rather than a new habit. The big pay-off will be having more confidence in myself because I was able to keep my New Year’s resolution where others failed.
The thing that interests me about these annual challenges is that they don’t really involve anyone else. Friends and family already put up with our bad habits, nobody actually pays attention to how many calories I eat – they hardly pay attention to what they’re eating! Eating is really between you and yourself, er, me and myself. It really is a ‘me’ thing, if you think about it.
Or I could do something fun, like figure out how to get my GPS to speak in a voice I actually enjoy; ride in a hot air balloon; go to the MOMA and paint a copy of a famous painting; participate with the Catalina scuba clean-up or go on a midnight hike through the wilderness near PV Dr East. You’ve probably done all these things already, but they are all still on my list.
Following one’s passion is another good way to keep your word with yourself. Since the things no one wants to do are the very things chosen to be the new resolution, the goal is doomed before it starts. Who is going to do something they don’t want to do, just for a lark?
So, wish me luck in my quest to improve myself in new and unusual ways, and if you need it, good luck to you, too! Oh, and I hope you’re still having a happy new year!
