A wise person once told me never to start new year resolutions on the first day of the new year.
Sound advice, since this holiday is usually spent finishing up those Christmas cookies, bars and creamy things that survived the previous week and will only head to the trash and that's wasting food...
The guilt is removed if we start on January 2nd. We are ready to begin after the hangover has left.
It is important to begin a year free from guilt. Guilt has never been a good motivator for people, it is simply a fear tactic. The church has been using guilt for years and now it seems to be deteriorating from it. (it only took1600 years, but still)
But I'm starting to see lovely trends where people are no longer starting new year resolutions out of guilt or a desire to refine oneself, but rather as an opportunity to celebrate and enliven the self. However, if you want a cheap treadmill, look for it at the used places in April. Seriously.
These are the resolutions that make it. These are the ones that take root and grow. Successful resolutions from my friends:
Starting a blog, attending a show each month, learning to knit, taking belly dance lessons, cooking a new cuisine every month... the list goes on.
So my resolutions for the new year?
Read more fiction,
Fix my bicycle,
Learn (not master) the art of French cooking, and... lose 15 lbs :)
3 comments:
ooh what fabulous resolutions! French Cooking... sounds complicated. interesting. but complicated... but Julia Child would be proud no?
Read more fiction.... what a good one! Do you have a list? Or just a general desire?
What fun a book swap would be.... hmmmmmm......
I often make new year's resolutions at the liturgical new year...but this year I forgot. So when I rashly made some random resolution about healthiness, one of my friends pointed out that it's best to begin either on January 2 or "on the first Monday after January 1"--lol! I sort of did...
I'm intrigued by French cooking. I hope that goes well for you!
Post a Comment