Different New Year's Resolutions

Photo: "T"eresa'sphotostream/Flickr
Standard New Year's Resolutions:

1. Lose weight.
2. Make money.
3. Lose weight.
4. Write more.
5. Lose weight.
6. Find a better job.
7. Lose weight.
8. Exercise

Crap. Don't you get tired of vowing over and over again to follow your New Year's Resolutions...but maybe you never actually do?

How about some realistic resolutions, ones you can do for yourself that might involve others.

1. Get more sleep. I'm usually up late at night because it's the only time people don't "need" me for something. Then, I get up early. Raccoon eyes aren't attractive. More sleep is needed so I'll have to go to bed earlier or get up later...or take a nap during the day.

2. Try new restaurants. Yeah, we all have our favorites, but how many good places have I missed because I've gotten into the same "Let's go here...it's my favorite" rut?

3. Learn to say no. I have a horrible time doing this. Everyone around me seems so "needy" that I usually cave in and "help". Then, my time is shot to hell. As an organizer, I'm programmed to "fix" everyone so their lives run smoothly. Guess what? People still screw up no matter what my "suggestions" are. Saying "Figure it out. Sorry I can't help" should be my mantra.

4. Write names on the back of old photos before no one can tell me who they are. As a baby boomer, I have to rely on my mother for the names of unfamiliar faces in photo albums. I need names and hopefully some dates so I'll have these family memories to pass on.

5. Spend more time with older relatives to record their family stories. My mother is one of two remaining siblings out of ten. My uncle has Alzheimer's. Only she can now recall stories of the past and I want to record them all. She's now 86. How much longer can I put this off?

6. Watch an old movie once a week. Just picking out one "oldie but a goodie" movie to watch and remember once a week will reconnect me with the past. Some of the classics I haven't seen in decades.

7. Sorta like #6...read "old" books, not necessarily romance books. I can't remember the last time I read a classic like "Little Women".

8. REALLY de-clutter my home. I've got tons of stuff, some from my kids, still lurking in my basement and around the house. I need to go through, room by room, and decide to get rid of stuff I haven't used in the last two years. Note to self: Say goodbye to unused items/those I no longer use at all.

9. Go to a theatre and see a movie once a month. I don't know about you, but I only get to see one or two movies a year. I just don't make an effort to go to a theatre. Why not? Why don't I treat myself and go with my husband?

10. Say "please" and "thank you" more often. I'm guilty of getting into the habit of expecting things to be done and forgetting the pleasant feeling I can give someone with a simple "thank you". Saying "please" will make a request seem less like a command. I will stop taking people and what they do for me for granted, and remember to use the good manners I was taught as a child.

Happy New Year!

Marianne/April
www.mariannestephens.net
www.aprilash.net