Resolutions and Goals

New Year Resolutions

Okay, we’ve had over a month now, a whole freaking month to get ourselves in gear. Count ‘em--six weeks to kick ol’ habits and to become buds with the new habits. Six weeks to set out to accomplish what we said we were going to do.

How’s it going?

Are you following your new diet? Have you gone to the gym three times a week? Done that tummy trimming video you promised to do every day? Or is the thigh master what you need? Are you doing the back exercises that the physical therapist said you need to do daily? Have you stayed true to your oath of never inviting a whole half gallon of Blue Bell Chocolate Fudge ice cream to take up residence on your hips? Are your bedroom drawers cleaned out with panties you don’t wear anymore for fear you’ll be in accident? Have you gone through your stack of books and given away the ones you’ve read or won’t read? Have you used the new cookbook your daughter gave you for Christmas? Have you started the knitting project, started writing a new book, or signed up for that class in photography that you said you were going to start?

Or, are you cringing and thinking, “You know CC, I really don’t have to read your blog if you’re gonna make me feel bad about myself!”

I don’t blame you for thinking that. Believe me, right now there’s this little voice inside my head saying, “You know, CC, you could choose another blog topic--one that didn’t remind you that you’ve failed or one that didn’t tell everyone in Blogsville that you haven’t met your goals. Couldn’t you just blog about the guy whose New Year Resolution was to be able to burp the National Anthem. Or what about the guy whose goal was to learn to make armpit noises. It’s funny, people will laugh, you will laugh. And everybody will be happy. Why do you have to go get all serious and shit?”

Why? Because in addition to being a smartass and loving to laugh, I’m also a person who believes we play a big part in making things happen in our lives. The good things and the not-so-good things. Yes, I know that luck, both good and bad, can fall from the sky like bird poo. But I also believe in synchronicity, in fear of failure, in fear of change. I know all about comfort zones, about finding yourself stalled in this thing called life. About wrong turns and just plain ol’ bad decisions. And believe it or not, my goal isn’t to make you or myself feel bad. My goal is to help me and maybe help you reconnect with our values. To stop letting little things, and even the big things, get in the way of accomplishing the goals that we tell ourselves are little issues, but in truth, they are somehow connected to our overall happiness and well being.

Now, I have a lot of excuses, and a part of me wants to stand up and yell at myself, “But look what you have accomplished!” Hell, yes. I’ve done a lot. I took care of the things I had to do. Deadlines did NOT go unmet. Wait, that’s a boldfaced lie. The deadlines that were set by others, my editors, deadlines where other peoplewere counting on me, they didn’t go unmet. But what about my personal deadlines? What about the promises I made to myself? Isn’t it amazing, and a little bit sad, that the person we are most likely to let down is ourselves?

So, here’s what I am doing and what I encourage you to do. Spend some time reviewing your New Year Resolutions/goals. I already know there are a few I need to either kick to the curb or revamp. I mean, how important is it to make arm pit noises? LOL There are a few I just need to do—for example, that underwear drawer that needs going through and the books I need to find homes for. When done, these things will make me feel so good because these are things that poke at me everyday and make me feel bad when I face them. And seriously, it would only take me a couple of hours. The back exercises that I HAVE to do will either become a habit or I will find myself in therapy again. Telling myself I don’t have time is like calling the bird and making an appointment to get crapped on.

So . . . what is it that you are not doing that needs to be done? Or you setting yourself up to deal with crap because you haven’t met a goal? And if you, unlike myself, and probably a lot of people, have managed to meet your goals, please share a little about how you’ve stayed on track. Hey, we’re all in this together. Life is a journey and if we share a little and help the people around us, not only are we more likely to accomplish more, but we’ll have more fun doing it.