This is the time of year where our minds start to reflect
on the good and bad of the previous year which naturally leads to a list of
things we’d like to change. Thus is the tradition of “resolutions”. I recently
saw two things that preoccupied my mind with the concept of resolutions. The
first was a picture on one of my favorite comedy facebook pages, No Hope forthe Human Race:
I started to realize it’s been years since I’ve listed
any real resolutions for myself. Partly because they don’t work so it’s hard to
believe in them. It’s like the Flu Shot. There are too many people who never
get flu shots and almost never get sick and too many people who get flu shots
every year but still get sick. I know there are mitigating factors like working
in a social heavy industry or living with infection cesspools, I mean ‘children’
but really that’s my point. The concept of “flu shots keep you from getting the
flu” has nowhere near enough conclusive data for me to believe in it, much like
resolutions. I don’t think I’ve ever met a single person who has completed a
resolution. That is not to say I’ve never met anyone who has changed their life
for the better. It just rarely if ever comes from some sweeping declaration on
New Years Day.
The second event was one of my best friends sent me his
list of resolutions, all of which are totally worthwhile and valid, but a
couple were a bit vague. That’s what got me started on the concept of goals
versus resolutions. Though it’s been many years since I’ve even thought about
resolutions, goals pretty much run my life and I couldn’t be happier about it.
When I was a child, I always got annoyed at goals and the whole idea of goal
setting. It was likely due to my goals being set by someone else; a parent, a
teacher, etc. The first couple years after high school, I painfully embraced
the idea of self discipline and realized that if I wanted something out of my
reach, the only way to get it is to work for it, to work really hard for it. The
last couple years I’ve set specific, obtainable goals with my music as well as
my personal life and they’ve easily been the most successful years of my life.
It’s a simple change we can make in our lives but it will
make all the difference. Trust me. For example, some of the goals I have for
2014 could be stated “Practice my music more” as a resolution but the goal
would be written as “Practice guitar and/or singing 1 hour every day”. Or “Blog
more” versus “Blog every Sunday”. “Lose weight” versus “Lose 100 lbs”. Now this
one will have a whole subset of smaller goals that I’ve made to make losing 100
lbs possible. I recently found this site that has a list of healthy habits that
will help you lose weight, my favorite of which is to take on each habit slowly
and individually. You won’t lose weight quickly at first but you will lose a
lot in the long run and the weight will stay off because your habits have
changed. It also has many other health tips that you skinny people will find
helpful. Click here for more information.
Anyway, my point is let us all set specific, obtainable
goals this year rather than vague resolutions. It won’t make changing any easier,
it just makes it more possible. Happy New Year everyone. Hope to see you soon.
