Resolutions

Well, the end of 2006 is coming up fast. But what does that all mean? It means there will probably be a few eraser marks from students accidentally writing '06' instead of the new '07' on their assignments. It will mean staying up late and partying for some to ring in the new year. And for a lot of us, it will mean making New Years Resolutions. Everyone makes a big deal out of this tradition that has been going on for many years. "I'll lose weight." "I'll go on a diet." "I'll stick to my diet." "I'll get good grades." It seems kind of odd that the 'new year' is smack dab in the middle of everything. It's in the middle of the school year, the middle of winter, and the first term isn't even through yet. For some it seems like an awkward time to resolve to change, yet we do it anyways.

No matter how far-fetched or even how realistic these resolutions are, they are often difficult to keep. We either give up, decide it was too hard, or most commonly, we simply forget about it. Society gets excited about the perfect time to change everything. Rationalization is common during the time leading up to the new year. Some people will eat chocolate now, but as soon as midnight of January 1 hits, they will be done with it for a year. *Poof!* There's quite a stark difference between wanting to make a change, and being willing to make a change. Everyone wants things to happen, but the people that make things happen are those who are willing to help them along. That's why it's easy to go back on an old habit 'just once' after you resolved not to, because maybe you weren't willing to make the change.

I heard a quote at an Eagle Scout banquet I attended by a man that overcame cancer and made some marvelous achievements in his lifetime. "Character is the ability to carry out a worthy decision after the emotion of making that decision has passed." So that's the key! Making New Years resolutions really happen is fulfilling the decision you made, even if the excitement of the new year and your 'wanting'-ness to change is gone. That's where the 'willing' part steps in, signs of true character.

There may be times that it's 'just too hard,' or 'there's no way I can keep this up.' Well, who's stopping you? Not me, not your friends, not even the chocolate. Another quote from the same man I referred to previously. "There is no chance, no destiny, no fate that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul." Stepping beyond the bounds of humanity into this chance, destiny, and fate ideology and you still find no roadblocks. So who is stopping us? What can stop us? No one and nothing but us and our lonesome selves. With that constantly in mind I'm sure it'd be easier to make and keep our resolutions, but we're a very forgetful society, slow to change and slow to admit weakness. Oh well, there's always another New Year!

Based on all this, some good steps to keep our goals and resolutions might be simple, as follows:
1. Write it down
2. Put it somewhere you'll see it every day (every few hours if possible)
3. Write down often how you're doing
4. Don't give up!

Sounds easy, but oh so difficult. I wish I could say I've got it down. We can all write (or blog) about resolutions, why they are so hard, and how to make them happen, but to be a do-er and not just a talk-er is tough. So this year, let's all break the shackles of hypocrisy and do exactly what we set out to do, and then some. Happy New Year!