Month One, Almost Done

Every year people make New Year’s Resolutions. The majority, as much as eighty percent(80%) according to a recent Time magazine article, abandon their resolutions before February. With another month fast approaching, how are you doing towards your resolutions? Did you really resolve to accomplish those things? Do you know the origins of the word? Let’s take a look, it may help.

As a noun, resolution is about breaking things down into simple terms or smaller parts. As an adjective, back in the 1500s it was used to describe someone “determined or having a fixed mind.” That’s for resolve and New Years resolution popped up in the late 1780s. We can use both definitions, the noun and the adjective, but I’d rather get to something that may prove more beneficial, a practical solution I have and continue to employ.

Tomorrow isn’t promised. I haven’t done the research, but I’m willing to bet more people die from January 2 through December 30 than New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day. My point is simple: What’s stopping you from resolving today? Why on Earth would you wait? We don’t know if we will see another day, let alone another year. Make the most of this day, this moment in time, as it’ll never come again.

I understand the folly of going with the crowd. Everyone likes to discuss the changes they’ll make in the upcoming year. As humans we like to go with our tribe. It’s most uncomfortable when we don’t. I’ve learned that being uncomfortable is not a bad thing. In fact, until I began changing who I associated with, it was quite uncomfortable. But, the new circle of friends live in a constant state of discomfort. They offer encouraging words to those traversing similar pain. Because they, unlike the majority, understand the challenges.

Wasting time waiting for a particular day to be determined is, in my experience, folly. If you really want and desire change, make a change. Be silent in your approach. Maybe find one or two supportive, like minded individuals and share that change with them. Another tip or trick which worked well is speaking of something I changed in the past tense. When I’d quit smoking if someone asked if I wanted to smoke, like when we were at dinner, I’d respond kind of surprised and say, “I don’t do that anymore” or “I don’t smoke.” Between my confused expression and the tone of my voice, they quickly accepted that I was a non-smoker, even if we’d smoked a cigarette together in the last week. Speaking of my “resolutions” as things I used to do worked incredibly well. It put my mind and my friends and family on notice that that particular behavior or habit was no longer part of who I was I currently was doing.

I’ve made some changes, immense to others, which are just part of my journey. I’ve remained resolute in the majority of the changes for well over five years. A few have lasted a bit longer and a couple have lasted for decades. As you make your changes and walk into this newest version of yourself, as time passes, you’ll begin to realize, as have I, that the past thing is so far removed from who you currently are, it’ll be challenging to recall how you felt while doing it all that time ago.

Today, Fr

This is the first part of the entry.