Happy New Year! 1-1-11

Resolution.  Each New Year's Eve I share my resolutions during our New Year's Eve toast and usually forget what they are by the second day in January.  Typical, right? 

     But that's because I usually try to abide by the traditional definition of what a resolution is, "a decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner."  Usually resolutions involve ideas like, "read more, exercise and lose weight, spend more time with the family, pay bills on time, write every day..."  Not that these are bad ideas (they are things I need to do, should do, and hope to do), but I usually discover quickly that life gets in the way... guilt sets in... and I forget my promises to myself!

   And when I looked on the internet I found some humdingers, funny resolutions, like:

• Eat healthier by adding more lettuce to my BLTs.
• I will answer my snail mail with the same enthusiasm with which I answer my e-mail.
• Keep in contact with old friends who have lost more hair than I have. 
• I will not sit in the living room all day in my pajamas, but move to the family room instead.  

     Poets write poetry about resolutions, columnists write columns about resolutions, comedians write jokes about resolutions... everyone writes about resolutions!

     My favorite resolution quote was by Dave Berry in the Miami Herald, "To succeed, you must believe in yourself. Write this motivational statement in large letters on a piece of paper and tape it someplace where you will see it often, such as on the inside of your eyeglasses: 'I CAN do it, and I WILL do it! Starting next year!'"  And, of course, "next year" comes and goes... and I always realize that time has gone by too quickly.

     So this year, I have decided to choose two other "definitions" of resolution:  1) The act or process of solving, and 2) The state of being relaxed.  If I look at my typical resolutions in a problem-solving manner and I relax about them, I might just actually stick to them.  Simply put:  Think and Relax!  I think those are two resolutions that make sense!

Happy New Year to all my readers!  I'm looking forward to another year of All-en-A-Day's Work!  Perhaps in a more thoughtful and relaxed manner...

From Readers Digest