My new years resolution is to make every type of pancakes on the Wikipedia list of pancakes. My life may not be sorted, but I'm rejecting hair-shirt NY resolutions. Life is too short. (I may start something 'worthy' in the spring, when it's more likely I'll stick to it, though...)
I stopped trying to make diet or lifestyle related resolutions at new year. January is too depressing to deny yourself a bit of comfort and indulgence.
Agreed. I also find that I'm far more primed and ready for change in spring (because of light and warmth) or early autumn (school year mindset is still strong 20+ years later apparently!)
Yes, denying yourself at the bleakest time of year is a recipe for failure, as is the idea that a diet or exercise regimen is something *quick* that will *end*. Small, lasting changes made when you feel up to them are what works.
I can happily admit that I have never made a New Year's resolution, nor even thought about it. But the steps you've described here add up for me, and it is all about TIME - how you spend it, or waste it, or make the best possible use of the accumulated minutes. 'Time' is why I love being alive.
Stopped my morning to read the whole thing. Thought it was going to be a joke of some kind, but it's turned out really interesting and has my mind going. Will share with people. Thanks.
An interesting take.
I can't decide if I ought to be happy that I always get up at 6 and my brain is almost always so tired by 10 that I'm ready to sleep. That's working in a primary school. Those kids will stretch your brain all day.
And I still need to lose 3 stone. Lol
I don't do resolutions anymore. It bakes in failure. So I stopped stopping smoking. Now I just put the next ciggie off for an hour, a day, whatevs. Cos if I stop, then having one means I've started again. Accept you can't change and find a workaround is my mantra as I grow old.
“you grow so used to these demands that you assume you should always be dealing with them. Or….. you forget that they are a distraction from the best things in life and fool yourself into thinking that they actually constitute life”
Very good. I particularly liked the existentialist aspect to it. Each and every one of us is free to make a different decision the next time we walk past a burger joint or meet our mates in a pub. Want to know more? The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir covers it very nicely!!
"You want a six pack. You want to look good in underwear. You buy a copy of Men's Health. It tells you that you can do it in six weeks if you eat fish and brown rice and turn into a cunt." 🤣
What an awesome read. My wife got headhunted for a position last year so we upped sticks and moved from Herts to Nebraska. I hadn’t even seen the place but what a six months we’ve had so far. I’ll turn 60 this summer and by then should be working. It’s never too late IMHO. Never stop being you Ian.
Just needs commitment, innit. I turned 51 last year and the realisation is growing that... you know, I'm not at death's door, but there's far less left on the clock than has passed since I popped into being, so if I don't want to be a fat drunk for the remainder of my days, I need to get cracking.
You'll find that journalists often link to their work, it's why most of us follow them - of course, you are under no obligation to click the link, but you may wish to reconsider who you follow if scrolling on by is not for you.
All the research suggest they don’t work, neither do smart goals. What does work is imaging what success would feel like in terms of the senses, preparing (like putting running gear out), and foreseeing obstacles and how you would deal with them.
Comments
I don’t want everyone up and about at 6am though. That would be counter-productive.
That’s ‘my’ time.
I can't decide if I ought to be happy that I always get up at 6 and my brain is almost always so tired by 10 that I'm ready to sleep. That's working in a primary school. Those kids will stretch your brain all day.
And I still need to lose 3 stone. Lol
1. This is a brilliant and very very profound piece
2. Who are you, and what have you done with the real Ian Dunt?
I mean, I come here for the political analysis and insights, the gags, and the swearing. I don't expect anything this deep!
Off to call my boss a cunt!!
“you grow so used to these demands that you assume you should always be dealing with them. Or….. you forget that they are a distraction from the best things in life and fool yourself into thinking that they actually constitute life”
That twat gets around, don't they.
I've been up since 4am--20 year old, hell, 30 year old me would have just been going to bed--but I've really come to like it.
All the best to you.
I did make a New Year resolution this year, for the first time since about 1986: Relax.