New Year’s resolutions. Social media is full of them. How about a different sort of challenge?
Herculean tasks often fail because the magnitude of them require a type and quantity of attention which exceeds what is viably available.
New Year’s resolutions fail because they are a cockeyed version of the definition, albeit nowhere near the first definition:
4. : a formal expression of opinion, will, or intent voted by an official body or assembled group
We shall not argue your body as official, unless of course it is what you wish to change.
Diets are a lifestyle change. The organized type are expensive because they not only govern which foods are available but also the preparation, packaging and delivery. Then come the pitfalls.
Often diets are a vehicle to another resolution to live healthier. Gym memberships skyrocket in January with all those resolvers thinking Zumba, free weights and MMA lessons are going to making life more livable.
Volunteering more is a popular resolution. With seeming conviction, volunteer hours crowd the calendar. To what end? What is being sacrificed?
Fact
No resolution works without sacrifice. Not a single one.
Rather than choosing what will be an addition to life, choose what will be subtracted, retracted or reprioritized. This is the simple secret to successful resolutions. Why is that? A RE-solution is re-solving a problem which has arisen, often unnoticed until it is ingrained in everyday life.
Some action creates this problem. No one gains weight without developing adverse dietary habits. Non-genetic health issues develop only in conducive environments filled with risk factors. The lack of hours available to volunteer is choosing overtime, social functions, extra-curricular activities and inaction over volunteering.
What precisely is the problem you want to solve?
Fallacies
New Year’s resolutions are truly only half-hearted because most feel the first step is the hardest: Choosing to make a change. Choice is easy. All of us have the ability to change our minds in the blink of a neuron. In the time it takes to blink your eye, you can change your mind more than 1,000 times. Yes, you.
The next fallacy is the belief putting it in writing (on social media) means someone will help with accountability. Like who, precisely? Which one of your Plussers will keep you from that third helping of cheesecake? Which Twitter follower will count reps for you? Which Facebook friend will take a shift so you can volunteer? Have a LinkedIn connection who will follow up on your progress?
Motivation is a fallacy, too. Chances are good the bad habits we want to change are those which developed out of convenience or exhaustion. Ever ordered pizza because you were too tired to cook? Ever slept in on your day off? Ever donated money or objects instead of scheduling volunteer hours? (Raises guilty hand three times.)
Give Up?
What are the chances you will raise your hand if asked Who’s a quitter? Other than smoking/alcohol/drug cessation, no one really wants to be a quitter. (Some do not even want to be a quitter in those circumstances.) How do we come to affect change in our lives?
The same way we solve problems is the way we re-solve problems. (Did you click on the definition above?)
- Analyze: What exactly is the problem? Break it down into manageable bites.
- Answer: Are the bites edible?
- Determine: How will you eat the bites?
- Practice: Eat.
Tada! Resolution.
Bon Appetit!
Before you don your bib, you need to decide which elephant to eat. Every year we each eat a few elephants, even if we have no idea of their nutritional value. The best elephants are the ones which shift our thinking to more healthy pursuits.
Have you eaten the new job elephant? Was it delicious or tough and gamy? How about the new spouse elephant? Or did you try the new home elephant? Did you get a new hobby elephant?
Each time we take on a new anything, we usually take the elephant for a walk to see if its meat is going to be tasty. Do you hear the whistle blowing? Do not park your new elephant on the train tracks.
Choose Wisely
Do not settle for an elephant. If something in your life is a tough and gamy elephant, merely taking a new one is not going to take the taste out of your mouth. Plus, the part you leave uneaten will rot and smell, immeasurably. Who really wants to live in an elephant graveyard?
Before you start the new elephant, a clean plate is in order. Some of your old elephant will not fit into snap top containers in the fridge. Even if it would, who wants that science experiment on Clean the fridge day? (Shakes head vehemently.)
It is time to sacrifice. Yes, recycle the old elephant first. How old were you the first time someone told you to put away what you were playing with before you got something else out? Same principle. Out with the old is the only way to make for In with the new.
Want to know a secret ingredient?
Happy New Year! Have you resolved to take out the old elephant? Are you up for some motivation?
#Hashtags: #NY2015 #resolutions #motivation
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Valentine Logar
/ January 1, 2015I am resolved to write more and better.
I am resolved to be a better friend.
I am resolved to take care of an itch now and then.
That is all.
Happy 2015
Valentine Logar recently posted..Just Yes
Red of M3
/ January 2, 2015Those are really good. May be borrowing those, or at least helping out 😉
xxx
gigoid
/ January 2, 2015Red,
HNY 2U2, as we say downtown…
No, I haven’t. I’m still working on the old one(s); no new elephants for me this year….
Of course… I’m always up for motivation, but, I don’t always use it the way it was designed, which is fine, if it’s the right sort… A good motivation goes a long way…
Do you mix the Tabasco and Tiger sauces, or do you prefer one over the other? Just wondered…
Ned
aka gigoid, the dubious
😎
gigoid recently posted..Two of the insults, please; hold the injuries…
Red of M3
/ January 2, 2015The two are different tastes. Tabasco is the universal sour hot. Tiger is the sweet hot. Rarely do I combine them since they are most often in dishes with a predominant difference in base. I put Tiger sauce on most everything from eggs to meat. HNY 🙂
John McDevitt
/ January 2, 2015I don’t believe in New Years resolutions. In fact, I don’t like the idea of starting the new year in the middle of winter. Hello! The new year begins at the spring solstice. But I can play along just a bit.
I resolve to smile first thing each day when I wake up, eager and grateful for the new day.
I love hot sauce but my tongue simply can’t tolerate the stuff any more.
John McDevitt recently posted..Christmas Magic & the New Year Let-down
Red of M3
/ January 3, 2015I love that resolution. It could make the world a much more beautiful place. And I entirely agree about the solstice. HNY, John.
totsymae1011
/ January 2, 2015I won’t be doing any resolutions, let alone joining a gym. I figured I could run up and down my stairs in the convenience of home.
totsymae1011 recently posted..The Best Resolution? Resolve to Live
Red of M3
/ January 3, 2015We see eye to eye on that one, Tots. I have been working on my secretary’s spread for a loooooooooooong time. LOL 😉 Great to see you today.
Tess
/ January 2, 2015No resolutions here, except for carving out new time out of the day for me. Have been working on it and the fit is better than this time a year ago. 🙂
Happy New Year, Red.
Tess recently posted..On the Yangtze River: Day 14, Part 4 (Three Gorges Dam)
Red of M3
/ January 3, 2015Excellent! I think you and John are onto something. HNY, Tess. xxx
Binky
/ January 2, 2015I resolve to gain weight, exercise less, and sleep more. I think I have a high probability of success.
Red of M3
/ January 3, 2015How do you exercise less than never? LOLOL
Binky
/ January 5, 2015That one does become more difficult each year.
Shyby Francis
/ January 3, 2015Have been working on this , it is better than this time a year ago
Red of M3
/ January 3, 2015Welcome to M3, Shyby!
Gray Dawster
/ January 19, 2015Did someone mention diets? 🙂 lol
Well I have started and so I will finish
as the guy on Mastermind always
says, but then I still like a few treats
in between so it’s not a strict diet, oh
no I never do those my sweet friend 🙂
I do lose weight my way though so it works… lol
Andro xxxx
Red of M3
/ January 27, 2015LOL! As long as it works. xxx