Always Live Now - A Father's Quest For Balance

Lifes Challenges

Resolutions for a New Year

Happy New Year! Actually, Happy New Decade! Whenever a new year comes around, I tend to get wrapped up in hopeless optimism and expect it to finally be the year where I either 1) win the lottery despite the fact that I never play, 2) find a gigantic gold nugget despite the fact that I don’t go gold panning or 3) get randomly spotted by a Holly wood agent and become the next megastar despite the fact that I can’t sing, dance or act. When it comes to the potential of a brand new year, I never let common sense slow me down.

My achilles heel of New Years has always been my New Year’s resolutions. My unbridled enthusiasm for the potential of a brand new year causes me to set my sites absurdly high. Where a rational person would make reasonable resolutions like “travel more this year” or “exercise more regularly”, I, on the other hand, go overboard with resolutions that are virtually impossible for me to live up to. Sure, it is a great idea to “wake up every morning and go running”, but highly unlikely given the fact that I am not in the least bit a morning person and I really don’t enjoy running.

For the most part, I do what a lot of us do and focus most of my resolutions on diet and exercise. At 6’ tall and plus or minus 190 pounds, I am not terribly out of shape, but I am also fully aware of what 6’ 190 has the potential of looking like.

Let’s just say that I am a little softer around the edges.

The fatal flaw with my typical resolution is that, simply put, I am not capable of actually doing what I resolve to do. January 1st always rolls around after a month of holiday binge eating, so that, coupled with my propensity of aiming too high, is a dangerous combination. With every fiber of my being, I fully commit to getting in shape by “exercising 7 days a week” and “eating only healthy foods”. Things usually start out okay, but invariably – typically no later than January 12th – I have failed. I like to think of myself as a fairly intelligent person, yet every year I seem to think that my taste in food will change overnight and I will no longer have the desire to eat anything unhealthy. To date, this has not happened. I still love pizza, ice cream and countless other delicacies that are not in the least bit “healthy”.

This year, I am still incredibly optimistic about the new year and a new decade, but I am going to try a different, healthier approach to my resolutions.

Resolution 1 – Do the best that I can: I would love to be in phenomenal shape, who wouldn’t? I would also love to be the world’s greatest husband, father, friend and brother. I would love to be a great writer, a great athlete. There are a lot of things that I would love to be the best at. Will I be? Probably not. Despite my best intentions, I will make mistakes, say the wrong things and fail as often as I succeed. As long as I always do the best that I can, I couldn’t ask anything more from myself.

Resolution 2 – Have a positive attitude: Quite honestly, 2009 was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me.

I must admit, I am glad to finally bid it adieu. Between the stress of unemployment and an upsetting estrangement from my parents, I spent quite a bit of the year with a heavy heart. Towards the end of the year, I began to realize that my life is full of variables outside of my control, and that I was letting these outside influences negatively impact me. The only thing that I can control – through good times and bad – is my attitude. Like most of us, I undoubtedly will be tested with many more obstacles this year. The truth of the matter is that, even in bad times, I have many things to be thankful for.

This year, I am going to focus on the good things in my life and try to meet every challenge with a positive attitude.

Resolution 3 – Live NOW: Given that this has been the focus of my life for the past 18 months and is the subject of my blog, you would think that I would have this one down pat. You would be wrong. Even I need constant reminders to treasure every “now” that I have been blessed with and to enjoy every moment to the best of my ability. For me, it is more of a journey than a destination. If I don’t make the conscious decision to live NOW, I too easily get overwhelmed with all of the trials, tribulations and stresses of life. Life is too short to waste even one NOW!

I feel like I might finally be on to something. I might actually be able to live up to these resolutions. I can’t wait to see what can be accomplished simply by doing my best with a positive attitude. I don’t know about you, but I sure am ready for a great year.