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February 7, 2009

Ed Hungness: With resolve

By ED HUNGNESS

I'm proud to say that in the first 38 days of 2009, I haven't broken a single one of my New Year's resolutions.

Making resolutions is a curious custom that began during early Roman times. The new year was something to look forward to, like a fresh start, a new lease on life, and so on.

Usually those promises to oneself revolve around change. The change is something that hopefully will improve our lives in some way. Can you imagine someone making a resolution to eat more, take up smoking and exercise less?

You are attending a New Year's Eve party, the clock strikes midnight and all are toasting in the new year wearing party hats, blowing horns and kissing their spouses. After the glasses are empty and everyone concludes their good wishes, the subject invariably comes up: "Does anyone have any New Year's resolutions?" The guests return to the snack table, pour another glass of wine and look reflective as they gaze into the fireplace.

Through exhaustive and detailed research without regard to cost, I have formulated a top 10 list of celebrated New Year's resolutions, which I will share with you. These, of course, do not cover the complete waterfront of pledges, but are the ones most often made at New Year's Eve parties and shortly thereafter broken in moments of human weakness.

Perhaps some of you slept through New Year's Eve or maybe you passed out before the clock struck 12. Some might have already grown tired of change and are completely happy with the way things are going for them.

On the outside chance that you still have hope for a better year, here are some of the most popular resolutions in no particular order:

Lose weight
Quit smoking
Read more
Save money
Get a better job
Drink less
Exercise more
Reduce stress
Watch less TV
Travel more

Do any of these strike a familiar note? Actually there are so many more to choose from, like "being more independent" or "volunteering to help others." How about "striving for happiness" or "thinking positively?" Many more could be added, but reasonable lists are usually limited to 10.

Recent research taken from New Year's gatherings around the land concludes that 53 percent of the resolution crowd believe that they will keep their New Year's resolutions. Keep in mind that when these self-promises were made, you were at a party. It was easy to vow to lose weight, drink less, reduce stress, save money and exercise more while you are eating free hors d'oeuvres, drinking your neighbor's wine and figuring out how to spend those Christmas gift cards. In reality, only about 12 percent of the people who make resolutions keep them.

So how can we be more successful? The first thing that must be realized is that occasionally you will fall off the wagon. Don't think that you have failed and just give up! It's a long time until next New Year's Eve. Climb up on that wagon and try it again.

Secondly, don't bite off more than you can chew. Set goals that are realistic and attainable. Share your resolutions with friends and family. If everybody knows about your commitment, you are less likely to give it up. Design some signs as reminders and stick them on your mirror, on the refrigerator and your computer monitor. Set up a system of rewards as you progress toward your goal.

If your goal is to lose weight, buy yourself some new jeans when you can get into a smaller size.

I wish you success in making and keeping your resolutions. In the beginning of this column I claimed not to have broken any of mine as of this date. I must confess that it is because I haven't made any yet.

My first one, I have decided, should be not to procrastinate. But then again, I could just wait until next year.

Ed Hungness and his wife owned their cottage on Fife Lake for six years before moving there after his retirement in 2005. His writing draws from life experiences and a love for the outdoors and northern Michigan. He can be reached at edhungness@yahoo.com or care of the Record-Eagle.

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