One of a Million New Year's post

Look around and you'll see that most everyone is posting some type of New Year's blog post this week. Check your blog rolls (or mine) for proof. I've looked at A Year in Review blogs, the best of the best blogs, most read posts blogs and my favorite: the new year resolutions (solutions, challenges, etc). Call me crazy, but I love these type of blog posts the best. Why? Because while most of us never keep our resolutions longer than a few hours days weeks months, there is something magical about the New Year. It is a chance to change whatever it is that was messed up for you during the previous year. Common resolutions include:

1. Stop smoking
2. Lose weight
3. Get organized
4. Save more
5. Spend less
6. Get to the project that is sitting in the basket, closet, or garage
7. Spend more time with family

Did I hit them all? These are on most people's lists. (By the way, stay tuned for the end of this post for links to sites that can actually attempt to accomplish some of these solutions - Merry Christmas) Looking over the list, I see the stop to a lot of excess (smoking, eating, laziness, spending, procrastination). Amazingly enough, I don't think I've ever seen the following on a New Year's Resolution List:

You know, I really spend too much time with family. I really need to knock that off.

So, if our lists are made with good intentions, why do they fail? Too much, too soon, too fast? Perhaps. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Could it be that we forget the key component of these resolutions: ourselves? If someone wants to quit smoking (or do any of the aforementioned things), they must change long, ingrained habits. They literally have to change their way of thinking, acting, and maybe even their self talk. That's a lot of changin' goin' on!

So, what about doing one thing every day for a month. Just a month? Is it a doable? I think so. Fitarella has posed the challenge to her readers: Simply pick one thing to do every day for a month. When that month is finished, quit doing it. If you choose. Or continue doing it, but add a new "thing" that you will do every day for the next month. At the end of 12 months, you will have accomplished 12 mini goals. Even if you didn't stick with it, you did something. And that's saying something, right?

With all of this talk about resolutions, you might be asking: Do you have one? Yes. No. Like many of you, I never stick with resolutions. However, I have a feeling that this year is going to be different. You see, the same thing that convinced The Man Beast to quit smoking a year ago is the same thing that will motivate me to accomplish my resolutions: necessity. A year ago, TMB was so sick, he was hospitalized. Have you ever felt like you couldn't breathe and there wasn't a thing you could do about it? We are talking worse than the worst panic attack. This is what TMB felt. So, despite being on Chantix (which was causing all of the bad side effects listed on the side of the box), it was that stint in the hospital that scared him enough to allow him to quit cold turkey. No amount of nagging or guilt from the doctors or myself could do that. While I would never wish this scare on anyone, I am glad that The Man Beast was given a glimpse of what could be without having to go the whole nine yards. He was saved and for this, I am thankful.

My New Year's resolutions to-do list includes several things, many of which I will reveal throughout the months to come. If you haven't guessed, one of my items on my to-do list is to blog more often. I enjoy writing and just haven't done it as often as I should. Writing brings me joy and it gives me an outlet. It also allows me to connect with people who might be feeling/experiencing similar things. Ultimately, writing for me is just fun. Besides, when you've spent the past three years writing term papers, you need a fun outlet.

And now for those links I promised (all of them free to help you with Resolutions #4 & #5):

1. Quit smoking: Quit Net
2. Lose weight: Spark People Look me up: Surfette729
3. Get organized: FlyLady
4. Save more:Coupon Wizards
5. Spend less:Credit Karma Check your credit for free (100% and forever)
6. Spend more time with family: See the little red "x" at the top right corner of your computer screen? Click that. Then press your computer's power button to turn off your machine. Move away from your desk. Go find your family!

Until next time...