Resolve This!

Groundhog's Day......ever see that movie? The overarching theme of this movie is that the same day keeps repeating in a deja vu type fashion. I titled my blog "Groundhog's Day" because I think I've realized that this is also the overarching theme to my life.

New Year's resolutions are rediculous. People place so much hope in the future and good fortune in their resolutions only to have more than half of them flop, come crashing down sooner than later. New Year's resolutions for me are like Groundhog's Day. Each year I find myself resolving the same issues; lose weight, be more organized, lose weight, find more time for myself, lose weight, give more to others, save more money.......oh and lose some weight. Most of us find ourselves saying things like " I will be a nicer person when I'm driving" only to get out on the road to work on Jan 2nd and scream " Ya don't do 65 in the fast lane, dick!"....." oh yeah, no more road rage ." Resolutions are nice thoughts. But they only work if you truly have a deep sense, a strong desire to make that change in your life.

I teach.....10 yr. olds. So often I find myself teaching to set goals and setting up plans for themselves to make sure those goals are attainable. We talk about setting small goals, one goal at a time making sure those goals are in sight and not too far fetched. Ok.....that sounds reasonable. Then why can't I follow my own teachings? Why can't I apply them to my own life? Do we create our own "Groundhog's Day" without realizing it? Do we have these reoccuring themes in our lives because our visions are too big?Are we setting ourselves us for failure without realizing it?

New Years does that. It gives us this fresh start, a clean slate. And many of us wipe the slate so clean, we lick it like a bowl of brownie mix making sure nothing from the past year resides in our virtual bowl of batter only to wake up the next morning to realize our "old" life, that we thought we left in 2007, is still here..........there is no clean anything. (especially our kitchens from the night before) Nothing beats a renewed sense of a fresh start. Bask in that.....but remember that in this life nothing starts over.....it just continues in a different way or down a different path. We, as humans, use the "starting over" theory as a survival technique. A way to face difficult times or choices. And when looking for a method of survival this might work for some. But remember that regardless of how many times we "start over" we had to arrive at that point through the choices that got us there. When you "start over" remember to reflect on the strong person you are today because of what brought you to this point.

So when that ball drops at midnight and Dick Clark wishes us well for the new year, maybe we should just lick the spatula instead of the whole bowl. January 2nd is always a reminder that things aren't erased, they still exist. Our resolutions shouldn't be about starting over, doing it the right way this year......it should be about changing the plan we made and carving out a new or different path to the same goals we still strive to meet. Last year wasn't SO bad that we need to wipe it clear from our minds. If it wasn't for last year we wouldn't be here today.

This year I "resolve" to not "plan" to make such drastic changes in my life but to pick the one thing that is most important to me and change my plan so that I might have a better chance of achieving. Then when I conquer that goal maybe I'll think of setting a new one.