Resolutions

January 1st...the day many diets & promises to visit the gym are born.  I think of them as start-up companies in a way.  Many are destined to fail, but some not only survive, but thrive.  Why is that?

Good intentions are cheap.  We mean well, but sometimes we set the bar too high or can't maintain the passion needed to succeed.  We establish unrealistic expectations and then give up when they are too hard to achieve.

Reporters and journalists write articles about resolutions at this time of the year, and many people publicly declare their desires to be thinner, happier, and thriftier people.  Talk shows go on about different strategies and promote products that are reputed to help us accomplish our goals.

With so many overweight and unhappy people in debt, I'm starting to wonder if this is an example of insanity?  Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results...

What if we changed our resolutions?  Instead of quantifying an amount of weight to lose or restricting our budgets until a penny seems a fortune, we focused on the positive?

This New Year's Eve I'm resolving to be a better human being.  Some days I'll succeed, and some days I'll fail.  I won't keep count, and I won't beat myself up for missing the bar if I fall short.  The next day has the potential to be a better one and is another chance to make it right.

It might be holding the door open for a stranger, picking up someone else's trash, staying as healthy as I can, being kind to others (and myself), respecting the environment, or spending time with friends. 

Instead of berating myself over my failures, I'm planning on recording my successes: a memory or moment from each day that helped me be a better human, and why it made me happy.  A sour expression and harping on the negativity of the day will only taint my interactions with myself and others.

Life is better sweet than bitter.