resolution revolution

Like many other individuals, I often find my reflecting on past mistakes and triumphs at this time of the year. I also happen to be something of a procrastinator and I am still trying to "firm up" my list of New Year's resolutions. The usual stock ideals have their place in my list, of course - silly (but important) items such as weight loss, patience, and which people to ignore. Then there are the easy to obtain ego boosters that one might consider "filler", but none-the-less are included in case I can't achieve any of my loftier goals right away. Last but not least are the real gems of resolution, the "dreams". These are the items that find their way onto your mental list, but often get left off of the physical list (if written down), because they sound childish and/or unrealistic. Strangely enough, I would wager that these often mocked ideas are also the most important.

My resolutions tend to fall to the wayside as "real life" progresses throughout the year, and I often find that the resolutions that weren't attempted at all somehow end up on my list when the end of December rolls around again. One might call them "recurring resolutions". After years of playing this resolution game, an obvious question comes to mind....

Why do we wait until the end of the year to come up with a list of goals, and why don't we revisit that list regularly to maintain and adjust those goals throughout the year, as needed? I've managed to do this on occasion throughout my life, and it seems to work better, but I've also fallen into the category of those people who set resolutions, and then beat themselves up at the end of each year for not having followed through. So, once again, I wonder why we wait until this one day out of the year to come up with a list of things that will make our lives better.

Perhaps it's the binging of holiday meals and parties, or maybe it is just the fact that we use this calendar day as a proverbial "clean slate" day in which we can start fresh and try to forget about last year's misgivings. After all, if we can't get over the past, how can we expect to tackle our even more challenged future? Maybe we're just too busy "driving down the road" during the rest of the year, and rely on holiday time to sit down and take into account where this road is actually leading (or where we might want to turn). Or perhaps it's just a long standing tradition in which we try to fool ourselves into thinking that this year will be different, if only we detail a game plan for enrichment in writing. Unfortunately, the year rarely changes (at least not for the better), unless we can actually follow through with that game plan.

As a child, I used to make lists of my dreams regularly throughout the year. Nothing official, mind you, but simple lists of the toys that I wanted to get, places I wanted to visit, girls I wanted to kiss, etc... :-) Revisiting that list every so often revealed subtle changes in those goals that helped to keep them more detailed, more intentional and somehow, more attainable. So, as part of my New Year's resolution, I have decided to follow my own childish behavior and revisit these lofty New Year's goals every month or so, to see where I am at, and make little changes as needed.

That way, by the end of the year, my goals won't have been left unattended and focused on December of 2006 so that they feel alien to me in 2007. If they are still on the list because I haven't reached them yet, they'll hopefully have been revisited often enough that they still feel like goals worth reaching for.

Think of it as a "resolution revolution".
Or, perhaps I am just rambling on again.

Have a safe and happy New Year!