Here we are mid-January.  How you doing on the new you?

I’ve noticed over the years that people don’t talk about resolutions anymore.  You hear comments like, “New Year’s Resolutions don’t work” and these people are right.  I got so negative about it a few years ago that I was on this mantra (which made Jana crazy!) that people don’t change, what you see is what you get.  As in past performance may not be an indicator of future financial results, but it was a pretty darn good indicator of what you’d be getting from another person.

This is hitting home for me right now, cause I set the stage that this-would-be-the-year-that-I-would blog everyday (after trying to get this blog off the ground for about 7 years).  I even warmed up for a day or two in 2017.  Made it a week in 2018, and then nothing.  So, if this is going on for you in whatever your “goal” (don’t say resolution) area is — food, alcohol, sex, health, fitness, money — what do you do now if you didn’t keep your promise to yourself?  What if you broke your streak?

Here’s a couple ideas that I’m pulling on:

1. The choices I made about me were good ones.  The view I have of what I want to change, the me that I wish to be, the new skill or habit that I want to develop, the contribution that I want to make, the old habit I’m going to shake — I was on the right track when I made that choice.  I’m just not going to bail now because I failed to do it in exactly the way that I’d hoped I’d do it.
2. I’m going to get back in motion, with small steps.  Inertia is a powerful thing.  I’m not going to let it work against me.  I’m going to keep it simple, and today I just said, I’m going to write one blog and grab any idea that comes to me for a future blog and put it on a list.  So, work out today for 20 minutes today, have a salad instead of a cheeseburger, say “yes” or “no” just for today in the appropriate context for your commitment to you.
3. I’m not going to try to do this alone.  Frankly, I hadn’t told anyone that I wanted to do this write everyday thing.  So, this week, I owned it with a friend how stupid I felt about not keeping my streak alive, and then today I told Jana about it.  They both believe in me.  You got people that believe in you?  Can you let someone into your world?  [We’ll talk another day about accountability — I’m not asking that they take you to task on whether you kept the commitment.  Just that you have someone who sees the good in you and can say “yes” and cheer you on.]

Go do the next right thing.  Pick yourself up and dust yourself off.  You’re fine, the year’s not a waste, and there are no awards anymore for perfect attendance.  Clean slate.  Let’s get started.