Why I Never Make New Year's Resolutions

A lot of people see the coming of the new year like a clean sheet of paper.
They think of it as a chance to do what they weren’t able to do for the entire year preceding it, which is/was to get their shit together.
In order to get their shit together a lot of people sit down and muddy up their nice clean sheet of paper with a weird little to do list that has come to be known as New Year’s Resolutions.
The people who make their money in the coaching profession love to write posts that contain list of suggestions for people to put on their resolutions list.
People go out for coffee with each other and talk, sometimes ad nauseam about the things they have to put on their resolutions list.
People do a lot of thinking about this stuff at this time of year. I personally believe they are trying to assuage their guilt over the excess they indulge in during the holiday season.
So losing weight and getting into shape are always high on these weird little to do lists.
A lot of people think that the new year will allow them to affect a change of attitude, so many people add things like, being kinder and nicer and more tolerant to their lists.
Several people that I have heard from lately have intimated that they are resolving to spend less time on line and more time out in the real world where the three dimensional creatures are. (That’s actually overrated, but that’s a post for another day.)
Some business people I know set lofty goals for themselves and because the work/life differential is a myth, have lumped their business goals in with their New Year’s resolutions.
The number and kinds of resolutions that people make are as many and varied as the people themselves.
But one of the things I have noticed about resolutions is that more often than not they tend to be about calling a halt to some sort of aberrant behavior that you feel guilty about. Overeating, excessive drinking, too little exercise. All of this is stuff that people see as wrong with them.
And the resolutions are an attempt to somehow right or correct them or fix or get rid of them.
Maybe it’s the nature of resolutions themselves that make them about all these negatives. Or maybe it’s the nature of people as flawed beings to really need an excuse like the coming of the new year to correct some of their flaws.
And that’s fine I guess. But honestly, I can’t even be bothered to sit down for five minutes and figure out what I would resolve to fix on starting on New Year’s day.
My belief is that we all have flaws because we are all imperfect and at the end of the day we probably as defined by our flaws as we are by our admirable qualities.
In my case, you could ague that one of my most prominent flaws is a mild to middling streak of cynicism. This never manifests in my professional writing but it’s all over the place in my personal writing.
But it’s that cynicism and the nerves it touches in people that makes all this blogging worth doing.
So why the hell would I want to resolve to be less cynical? The fact is that I wouldn’t and if I tried it would only last a post or two and I would be right back at it.
So the M & M’s addiction and the get into shape regimen and pretty much 80% of whatever people resolve to fix ends up not being that way after a month or two.
So by not making resolutions of any kind, I am simply cutting out the middleman and carrying on regardless.
Besides, at my age most of the stuff that I would consider to be a resolution is stuff I have to do to keep from heading off into the next dimension.
Life is short. Live well, but don’t overdo it. Keep an eye on your addictions so they don’t become chronic. And be true to your own imperfections. You’ll be fine and will probably have a much happier New Year.

PS: Moving day is Monday and I have a big deal thing in Toronto on Tuesday so you probably won't be hearing from me till later in the week. Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone.

If your business has reached the point where talking to a communication professional would be the preferred option to banging your head against the wall or whatever, lets talk.

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