New Years Resolutions--Yes, Or No...?

I stole the meme from somewhere to send to my friend, another volley in our continual meme war. It's a good one. Funny, yet it brings up a topic some find serious, some don't think about at all.

New Years resolutions.

Yea, Or Nea.

I'd like to think I'm in the Yea camp. It's good to set goals and make decisions to improve your life. It's good to be progressing. Successful people set goals for themselves and they usually achieving them.

On the other hand, yes, it's good to set goals, but it can be bad if you beat yourself up for not reaching them. It's funny...as soon as the awful fragrance ads disappear from TV the moment the holidays end, in roll the gym and diet ads. They're almost as bad (I don't think anything's as bad as the fragrance ads, though...). The gyms and diet programs are hoping to capitalize on those of us who are deciding to improve ourselves.

I know I should do it, and I sort of do. I sort of make goals that I want to accomplish in the next year. I resolve to do better. I don't go to the extremes as some, and therefore, my results don't go to the extremes, either.

Yes, or no...?

It's a good question.

New Year's Resolutions...One We Might Just Do

 Many make new year's resolutions, myself included. Many have failed to follow through on those resolutions, myself included. There are several things that I do on a regular basis I would describe as positive. I suppose at some point--either consciously or subconsciously--I made a resolution to do these things (I wonder if the same could be said for the negative things I do...). 

In my fifty-five years on this planet, I know that making resolutions in no way guarantees success. In order for me to adopt a positive habit, I need to want to do it, want to make it part of me, want me to be a better person by doing it.

This morning we set up the beginnings of a home gym. We found a house that has a HUGE garage, something we're unaccustomed to having. This thing could house multiple VW beetles, or four normal-sized cars. One section of the garage is deep, more than the width of the house. When my wife first saw it, she envisioned that space to be perfect for a home gym.

I agreed.

We're starting small. We have a not-overly-used treadmill and I have a stationary bike apparatus that allows me to convert and use a normal bike inside. We're looking for an elliptical machine (if you have one that works and you would like it gone from your house, let us know...). We're even going to set up a Nintendo Wii unit and pretend to play tennis and such.

For the past week, we've been de-cluttering and organizing. We have a ways to go until we're finished, but little by little, things are coming together. We've worn ourselves out by all the work we've put in. Interestingly enough, we'll now try and wear ourselves out in other ways. I hope this resolution sticks. After all, we've already done a lot of work to get this far--might as well keep it going.

Hence, one way to make a resolution successful.

So, It's A New Year...

If you're like me, you've seen many posts and opinions about the year that's been. Most couldn't wait until 2016 was in their rearview mirror. They had a terrible year, nothing but doom and gloom. Of course, others countered by commenting that 2016 was either a fantastic year for them, or at least, a year that wasn't that bad. The "half empty/half full" analogy was used often.

For me, 2016 was an amazing year. 

Then again, so was 2015.

And 2014, and 2013...

You get the idea.

I don't feel I'm one of those people that feel everything is rainbows and unicorns. I like to think of myself as a realist, someone who tries to look at many sides and understands life is more than a headline or a predominant opinion. I'm not always right, but I'm trying. So, was last year (and those other years...) really amazing? I can honestly say, yes. My family's been safe, we've had a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. I've had success with my writing, performing, and photography. Of course, there have been ups and downs--there always is.

So many have bemoaned 2016 as a terrible year. There was an election like none of us have ever seen before, and the news of passing celebrities came and went almost on a daily basis. Such is a living in a world with instantaneous news. I don't know what the future will bring, but I have a feeling that those who so hated 2016 will most likely dislike a lot of what 2017 gives them. And those who had a good year or an okay year in 2016 will probably have the same time of year in the next twelve months.

Such is life. At least, I hope so because that will mean, 2017 should be another amazing year.