2013: No Resolutions Needed

You know how it is.  The new year rolls around and suddenly we’re all about self-improvement and good intentions.  Here’s how it usually goes:

This year I’m only going to eat broccoli and sunshine.  While exercising.

I swear to give up booze/smokes/panda livers/Bon Jovi for the rest of my life, starting at midnight.

I will not kill another clown, so help me god.

And what happens?  As soon as March rolls around, you find yourself singing along to Livin’ on a Prayer while burying another sack of rubber noses in the backyard.  I know, I’ve been there.

As a self-help tool, resolutions are crap.  First of all, they’re always some big dramatic change which is impossible to stick with over the long term.  Big changes happen over time, small success by small success.  Unrealistic goals are a sure-fire way to get discouraged.

Secondly, they’re tied to a time of year.  When was the last time somebody asked you how you were doing on your new year’s resolutions in August?

And lastly, the whole tradition has failure built right into it.  It’s easy to make a crazy resolution on the first day of the year, because nobody expects you to live up to it.  It’s a given that you’ll do it for a few weeks and then move on with a laugh and a wave with everyone else.

No more resolutions.  No big declarations.  Just one measurable step towards success every day.  Let’s do it together.  I’m going to put my money where my mouth is, so while you’re doing what you need to do, I’m going to let that clown out of my garage right now.

Baby steps.