Saturday, December 31, 2011

Rambling Toward My Resolutions



So why do I love to set goals so much? Why is it so important that the day of New Year’s Eve I find some time for myself to write down the same resolutions I make every year? (You know the ones: lose weight, cut out sugar, become a vegan, write more, be nicer, spend more time playing with my kids, advance my career, nag less, call my mom more often…)

The goals are pretty generic and the idea of getting a fresh start on a completely arbitrary day – other than it’s the same arbitrary day for everyone else in the world too – is pretty silly, really. Even so, it compels me.

I’m always looking for a fresh start. A BIG fresh start. This could be the year! I could publish my book. I could go for a year without a single complaint. I could become the perfect juxtaposition of Oprah and Ellen and instead of hosting imaginary talk shows out of my bedroom closet in my pink robe, as I did as a child, I could have a real stage and real guests instead of stuffed animals.

Yes, I love a good goal. And I love a lot of goals. I love to start new.

My biggest goal this year is to start new every day. Every hour or every minute, even. I just want to give myself as many chances as possible to succeed. It’s not do or die this time. It’s just keep doing.

(And I’m going to try to make it fun, too.)