My Reservations About New Year’s Resolutions

I try not to make New Year’s resolutions as a rule. I find that the whole thing is a means off putting of changes that you already know that you have to make. Frankly if you are not ready to make the change RIGHT NOW then you are really not going to stick with whatever vice you are trying to break in yourself.

Despite all of my feelings on the self defeating practice of New Year’s Resolutions I actually found myself making one this year. Let me defend my honor here: I constantly look for ways that I can be better, ways that I can grow. Between Christmas, and New Years Eve I didn’t write a single line. I am a writer. Took me a while to admit it, others knew before I did… but I digress. It occurred to me on New Year’s Eve that I had not touched the keyboard. I didn’t put the pen to paper. If I am a writer, and I don’t write, then isn’t that like being a Fireman and watching a fire burn?

What was my resolution then? A page a day. Simple. I will write a page a day. There is not going to be a day that goes by that I feel too tired, too sleepy, too sick. Hell or high water I will write a page a day. I happily announced that I actually had a New Years Resolution. I shouted it from the roof tops.

So here I sit pounding on the keyboard for the first time in about ten days. I can give you reasons. My daughter gave birth to a daughter. I fell ill. I had a couple of social events to attend to over the weekend.

My point is that just because I broke a resolution that I had made on New Year’s Eve, does not mean that I will wait for next year to try again. I will write a page a day. If a day goes by that I haven’t written a poem, a short story, A couple of pages of my screenplay… well then so be it. I will sit back down again and I will write A Page A Day.

My page a day goes for other things that I know I need to fix. I will not wait for an arbitrary date to change the fact that I need to lose weight. I will not beat myself up over the fact that I have not meditated every day like I used to. I will just do so. I would like to learn Spanish. I think in California it will be an asset. Guess I will get to that. Not on a specific date on the calendar, simply when I think that I will have the time and patience.

I know that many self help gurus all say that you should set definite dates. Definite goals. The goals I agree with, it’s those dates that will always get to you. Just do whatever it is that you know that you have to do. If you don’t… Then just do. Not meeting a self induced deadline is an easy way to quit. An easy way to say: I just didn’t accomplish that thing… I say MEH! To self inflicted deadlines and embrace that you will meat all of your goals.
A Page A Day.