This is going to be the year that you finally drop those extra 10, 20, 50, 80 pounds and whip your sorry butt into real, solid physical condition, and then keep it that way with regular maintenance.
Unfortunately, as I know all too well, the vast majority who make this resolution will drift away from it by the spring, definitely by the summer.
The #2 on the resolution list is perhaps even more likely to fail: quitting smoking. How many times have you said that this will be the year that you put out your last cigarette, and never pick up another?
The 'patch', some type of drugs, your own will power, all of it is begun in an earnest effort to rid yourself of the vile weed. But for smokers, this one usually is surrendered even quicker than a weight-loss resolution.
As far as I can recall, there is only one resolution that I have made in all of the 30 or so years that I have been making them that I have managed to keep. Several years ago I realized that I had gotten away from one of the things that gave me great joy as a young man. That was reading good books. I was reading the newspaper, even reading some articles online, but I hadn't picked up a book in years.
That wasn't the case when I was younger. From the time of my childhood and mostly through my twenties, I read books regularly. So at about age 40, I made the resolution that I was going to read books more.
As a tool, I resolved to go out and get a library card, and read at least one book a month. I went to the library, got the card, took out what turned out to be a great biography. It was titled 'When Pride Still Mattered' by David Maraniss, and told the life story of legendary Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi. I have never looked back. There is almost never a time when I don't have at least one book that I am currently reading, and I highly recommend that Lombardi bio.
This year my resolution has more to do with faith than anything else. I have resolved to try to do what God wants me to do more than doing what it is that I want. Those two things have often been in conflict in the past, as they are in most folks lives.
I hope that by keying on His desires for me rather than my own, that I will see solid, positive changes across many facets of my life. We'll see. I have a lot of hope, because as a believer in Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour I know the full power of God. He can do great things in your life if you just let Him in and give him more control.
So there is my New Year resolution for 2009. It's far bigger than losing some weight, quitting smoking, or reading more books. And it's the one that I hope actually comes to pass, more than any other that I've gone after.
God bless you all in the New Year, and all of your families and close friends. I hope that whatever your own personal resolutions are, that you will achieve success at them, and that perhaps you will consider adding a piece of my own to your own efforts. I believe it will make those battles a lot easier for you. Happy New Year!
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