Each year there is so much emphasis on creating New Year’s resolutions that you would think we had completed the ones from before. The truth is, of course, without radical effort and determination your “new” resolutions slip into oblivion within a few weeks as you slip back into your old habits.

Instead of creating new resolutions, why don’t we just roll over the old ones year after year until they drop off the list by being accomplished, they give birth to offspring who need tending or we lose interest in them altogether.

Our resolutions are painfully predictable and usually too general. Most people want to lose weight, exercise, quit smoking, get out of debt, and get organized.

When I thought about my resolutions from a year ago, I’m glad to report that I made progress, but they’re not the kinds of things that get neatly completed and tucked away. They grow tentacles and continue to require attention and care.

Two things on my list from last year continue to be there: become fluent in Spanish and learn to play gospel music.
I confess that these two things have been on my list since I retired three years ago and need to be chopped into doable chunks.

It’s not that I haven’t made a stab at them. I signed up for a Spanish program, Spanish Pod, that I can do from my smartphone, but dropped out after the trial period when I realized that other money-making tasks were getting pushed aside.

Learning to play gospel music stood a chance a few years ago when I discovered an online program, www.hearandplay.com by Jermaine Griggs, but I was eager to travel when I first retired, so that’s what I did instead.

Maybe I’m foolish to aim for so many big goals in one year.

Or maybe it’s just that I wasn’t ready to commit.

After all, I achieved my 2008-2009 resolutions to write a book, start a blog and start a talk radio show. Yippee!

In 2010 I resolved to complete a coaches training program, start a group coaching program and visit the East Coast to see the fall foliage. Done!

The biggest challenge to completing my goals is my love of research and learning that deters me from carrying out the tasks that will accomplish them. I spend way too much time in that exploration, preparation and reflection stage. I wrote this poem to express how I was feeling about all this today.

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Resolution
by
Flora Morris Brown

I don’t need another resolution,
Another vision board,
Another fact-packed webinar,
E-books from kids who’ve scored.

I’ve gathered piles of weighty tips,
That’s how my last year was spent.
Now my starving bank account
Squeals, “It’s time to IMPLEMENT!”

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I’m feeling especially confident about my resolutions for this year. Maybe that’s because they are so familiar.

But it’s more than that. They are a mix of work and play so I ensure balance in my life.

I love to entertain and attend theater and live performances, for example. Already I’ve had 2 dinner parties and am going to see Earth, Wind and Fire in February. Good start, heh?

One of my key resolutions is to take action on money-making projects that I spent so much time researching last year, one at a time. I’ve curtailed watching TV, hunkered down and resisted following bright, shiny objects.

How about you?

It’s mid-January.

How are you coming with those resolutions?