New Year's Resolutions

Its New Year's Day. I am a very goal oriented person. I suppose I should have some meaningful, life altering resolutions that I write down.

I don't.

At this moment I have my daily job list complete. I have even checked off a few things already. Well, my list is complete for now, that is until I think of, or more appropriately, remember, more things I need to do today. Pretty soon the list will get too long, if it isn't already, and I'll never get it finished in one day. Today happens to be January 1, 2010. My job list is my job list. It doesn't matter to me that today is New Year's. My job list for today reads:

email Gary re: letter

call George about fly shop rod order

finish "Few Words" blog post for today

message OC

check the wiper fluid in vehicles

get new wiper fluid

return/replace Katy's trekking poles

get new Sno-Park pass

outside Christmas lights down

start putting Christmas away inside the house
tree away
villages away
all the other stuff away

enter new real estate client testamonial letter (on my web page)

straighten up desk

tie flies

read

Okay, that's it for now. Again, I'm very goal oriented and have been for decades. I have many goals for the months ahead in several areas of my life. I didn't set those goals today and I don't think of them as being just for the calendar year 2010. I have real estate goals, personal goals, fishing goals, travel goals, writing goals, learning goals, and others. They are not resolutions though. They are things I am working on or am going to be working on.

Alas, New Year's Day Resolutions don't work so well for me. How could they? I already have too many things just on today's job list. How could I add some life altering goal when I'm already too busy just to get today's simple tasks completed?

I remember reading a quote many years ago by the great American writer, Mark Twain. He said, "New Year's Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual." I think that's funny. I'm not cynical about my goal setting or other people's either. Goal setting is extremely important.

Laughing is important too. I also remember hearing "A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other." I don't know who said it but I think its a bit funny.

So today, New Year's Day 2010, I resolve to get today's job list done. Nope, I take that back. I resolve to try to get SOME of it done. There, that's better. I'll work at it and what I get done is what I get done.

In a way, today, I resolve to be patient with myself and others, particularly when it comes to things that don't get done.

It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive you car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.

P

PS--I just added a job to my list for today:

Help finish the Christmas cookies.

Now that's something I will definitely be able to get checked off!