Morning Edition - End of 2006

Resolutions; This Is My Life
Each year we all take a moment to think of what we will do better. What changes we will make to be this new and improved person. By February many of us have dropped most of those new year’s resolutions and are just hoping to not completely revert to the person we were the year before. Well, the hope is that this year WILL be different. This year I’ve chosen a few things that are building blocks, rather than goals… building blocks to making me a better person. So here goes…

Calculated risks that can/will improve my life…I’m a pretty spontaneous person, but I’m also a creature of habit. I like sticking with what’s comfortable – whether that be my career, the clubs and bars I attend and the friends I hang with. This year I will make myself available to new career choices, make myself open to new romantic interactions and enjoy the rotten apple like a tourist. This is also the year that I stop making excuses for why I could never make it as a writer. At the very least, I have to write that novel based on my life story that will, at the very least, serve as a cathartic tool.

Accept my appearance… I’ve always felt that I’m harder on myself than anyone could ever be. I work out 4-5 days per week and point out every new wrinkle to myself each morning. In 2006 I met folks that were amazing in their self-acceptance. They loved their appearance and their self love made them all the more attractive. Rather than obsessing about the natural aging process, I will do more to continue working out hard, eating right, dropping those bad habits (my buddies know what those are) and enjoying me. I will recognize that I am beautiful today – before the workouts, the cosmetic surgery, the Whitney Houston dental work… this is my year to love me… flaws and all.

Give back… Sometimes we get so caught up on ourselves and our lives that we don’t recognize how fulfilled we would be to give back. We complain about our mortgages/rents, car payments, additional pounds, quirky families, etc. and don’t realize how blessed our lives really are. To have a mortgage, to have a car, to have families, to have our health… we are blessed. I will choose a cause and give back. I will commit to giving of my time, money and resources to help someone else. Ultimately, I suspect the biggest benefactor will be me.

On Blast
What new year’s resolution will you make today that you are sure will make 2007 the year you became a better person?

Keep passin’ the open windows…