Resolutions... let's cut THAT crap.

Happy 2011! Okay, let's level... did you start a diet you don't plan to keep because it's a new year? Did you go to the gym this past Monday because you ate too many Christmas cookies? Or maybe you haven't smoked a butt in three days and you swear this is the year you are going to quit.

I hate New Year's resolutions. Okay, hate is strong. I normally reserve that word for Nazis and salmon (I hate salmon... gross!). I amend, I don't like New Year's resolutions. Why? Because all they do is set you up for failure and that is no way to start a new year.

I propose a change in attitude: Instead of looking at this next year of your life as 52 weeks of Lent where you're forced to give up something you love and pine away for it all year long, inevitably breaking at some point and giving up, let's take it one day at a time. Why must we place all this pressure on the New Year, when we should look at every day as a New Day.

I wrote a blog a while back about making choices. Everyday we are forced to make multiple choices. What should I wear? Can I hit the snooze button one more time? Should I have another glass of wine (read this sentence slurring)? You get my point. Our choices create who we are from what we wear to how we eat to how much we weigh. Let's make a plan to make better choices one day at a time. Instead of looking at your week and dreading the three days you know you have to go to the gym, look at the day in front of you and decide how you can make it better. Maybe that is by going to the gym. Maybe it's by playing with your kids more. Maybe it's by practicing a hobby you have long forgotten. Ask yourself, what are the right choices for you TODAY. Not this week or this year, but today.

That's my non-resolution: do what will make me happy today. I think you might find that on occasion the gym will make you happy. I can guarantee that eating healthy will make you happy, that is a proven fact. But maybe you will tap into something that you didn't know would make you happy like painting, knitting, or for me, writing. Wouldn't that be a great adventure for 2011...