Fireworks. Photo © John Haslam, via flickr and Creative Commons

Many of us are reflecting on the year just passed and making plans for the months ahead. The pundits among us have pronounced on the successes and failures behind us and prognosticated on future possibilities. Some of us brought in January 1 with bold resolutions for change—we’ll lose weight, eat more leafy greens, stress less, pay off debt, focus on family….

We spend so much time at this time of year considering past times and future times—and so little time focusing on what we’re doing right now, at this very moment. More »

Checking email. Photo © www.buzzfarmers.com, via flickr and Creative Commons

Photo © www.buzzfarmers.com

When he was younger and had more hair, Nature Boy often marked this time of year by resolving to break annoying habits. These included snacking between meals, spending too much time onscreen, sleeping until the last possible minute before getting up and getting ready for work, and so on.

Year after year, he resolved to get smarter, fitter, faster or just get up.

You could say he was beginning to develop a habit of making resolutions to break bad habits.

Alas, as with so many resolutions made by so many people, a resolution-making habit does little to squelch the habits prompting the resolutions….

 

Read the rest of this editorial at the Victoria Times Colonist….

 

Chocolate Cake… mmm, so tempting—so distracting! Photo © Hudson, The, on flickr

I elected to write about motivation for this week’s column. The Editors approved. How timely, they said. Think of all the new year’s resolutions made, by now quietly regretted but not yet abandoned.

Many people who started 2014 fired up with enthusiasm and good intentions may just now be experiencing the first second thoughts about goals hastily set and commitments rashly made. They may be feeling the first hints of—ugh! Not again!—regret and disappointment about persisting with those resolutions. They may be enduring the opening sequences of internal dialogues between “I should” or “I promised” and “It’s too wet/cold/hard/yummy” or “I’ll start again tomorrow.”

Right about now.

According to one online calendar of annual commemorative days, yesterday was Ditch Your New Years Resolution Day.

Which kind of makes it official. And just maybe provides that hint of permission we might have been searching for.

So, yes, a piece about motivation is timely.

Yet, while the ghosts of New Year’s resolutions soon-to-be-past stretch their guilt-lashing muscles, lace up their running shoes of remorse, and tune their taunting laments, I find myself not writing….

Read the rest of this editorial in the Victoria Times Colonist….