COMMON SAINTS: Resolutions, Shmezolutions!

Are you one of the bazillions who, on December 31st, pen in hand, sit down to craft your carefully created resolutions for the new year?  (Not sure why we even sit down to do that – there ought to simply be a check-off list you can buy with the 25 most common resolutions printed on the sheet.) 

I think the underlying idea behind making New Year's resolutions is a good one. Taking some time to evaluate the past year, put some goals in place for the coming year, clean the slate and move forward. Not a bad way to begin the next trip around the Sun.

The problem is – hardly anyone actually keeps to their resolutions. Oh, maybe for a while they do. But after a few weeks or months, most of us are back to our old habits, conveniently forgetting those well-intentioned resolutions. (Unless you try these 10 New Year's Resolutions You Will Never Break)

Why is that?

Probably a lot of reasons, but I think that the main reason we shove our resolutions to the side is that we make too many of them!

Most people come up with a list of five to 10 things they want to change in the coming year. We dig our feet into the sand, grab hold of the sail and shout "Thar she blows!" as we boldly go where everyone has gone before – the exciting world of wish-making.

Seems to me that the most effective changes in our lives come in small doses – one step at a time. No huge sudden leaps – just a minor course alteration today that takes us to an entirely different reality a year from now.

So maybe we should set out to do that – to make ONE change today. Just one. No more. No big list of major resolutions... just pick one thing and then set out to stick with it.

If your list, for example, includes: 1) stop smoking, 2) drink less, 3) get a raise, 4) exercise 60 minutes a day, 5) do the dishes every night... you may not be able to accomplish all of these. And you'll just find yourself frustrated and ready to give up on all of them.

If, however, your list was: 1) walk 30 minutes each day (assuming you don't do that now), and if that is ALL you did over the course of the next year - don't you think you'd feel better - not just physically, but emotionally as well for having successfully accomplished your goal?

Most of us want to give up vices. This is because we've been taught that vices are bad. Well, anything is "bad" if we let it take control of our lives. Maybe simply cutting your vice in half could be a great starting point towards a new you?

Bottom line: rather than making a list of things to cut out of your life, and then never really following through with that list. Take a moment and consider ONE thing you'd like to change in your life, and then set out to do that.

And if you’re stuck, here’s one you can try:

Hire Dan McGowan for an evening of side-splitting comedy for your church or corporate event.

Happy New Year!

Dan McGowan is a comic and actor living in Denver and working anywhere people will pay him. Dan, who was a contestant on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” has appeared in several television commercials and most recently was a finalist in the search for the new Maytag repairman. Dan performs clean comedy and musical parodies in churches and corporations nationwide and is a published author, songwriter and music composer.

Read more of Dan's COMMON SAINTS:

• Be Afraid... Be Very Afraid!
• Can You Spell Dysfunctional?
• Don't I Know You?
• The Cryptic Feast
• Piggy Back Pavlov
• Bumper Stickers, Bookmarks & Buttons
• A Little Bit Louder, Now ...
• Don't Touch That Dial!
• Take My Junk, Please!
• My Messy Life