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Monthly Resolution

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Like most people, I suck at New Years resolutions. Times Tribune’s Jerod Mills wrote, “Studies show that only 8% of Americans who make a New Year’s resolution actually keep them all year and 80% have failed by the start of February.” So being February first, 92% of us gave up already. That means we are all failures and have to wait around another year just to make another feeble attempt at weight loss. Well crap! Now what? Hit that all you can eat buffet and then go home and cry as you eat a whole tub of Ben & Jerry’s to yourself as you sob tears of failure on the kitchen floor. 

 

When COVID-19 hit and everyone panicked and lost their minds, states went into lockdown mode for two to three weeks. It lasted roughly two months in the end. I went something like 56 or 59 days without eating in a restaurant, which was too long. We got through it, though it really sucked. Catholics have Lent and that lasts 40 days. I remember how much Lent sucked. This is ten days less! 

 

I’m a big fan of Tim Ferriss so you will get two references to two different books of his. The first is 4-Hour Work Week. To paraphrase one of the premises the author stated, it’s about taking mini vacations throughout life while you can enjoy things instead of being on the “standard plan” of working till 65, drawing a retirement, going to see mountains you are too old to climb or swimming in oceans you are too out of shape to pass a SCUBA test to dive into. Also wouldn’t it suck to decide you wanted to move to Panama in your golden years based on what others told you, then you sell everything and buy a place there only to discover you can’t handle the humidity and you should have moved to Arizona instead? 

 

Let’s apply this theory to a New Year’s resolution too. Maybe you decided to learn to speak French only to realize you don’t like how it sounds or you meet a beautiful Colombian woman and Spanish was the better answer for you. You’re less invested in French and maybe know a couple words down the line. So let’s focus on monthly resolutions. You can survive a month of going to the gym, eating no carbs, two hours a day of guitar practice, or intermittent fasting. When the month is over, give up if you hate it or work it into your lifestyle if you found it rewarding. 

 

I have both print and audio versions of the Tim Ferriss book “4-Hour Body,” where he makes the valid argument where we all want immediate gratification and one month of the Slow Carb Diet can cause a loss of as much as twenty pounds, which is one pant size. Don’t make the resolution so easy that you will see no results. I can’t expect conversational Spanish in one month, but we can expect you to be able to order in Spanish at your favorite Mexican restaurant after one month of good Spanish learning (as opposed to how high schools teach Spanish). 

 

I am proposing at least two resolutions per month with one directly relating to health and wellness. The other, I feel, should be related to money and / or happiness. 

 

If you want to read the article I quoted in the opening paragraph, please click the following link: https://www.thetimestribune.com/news/local_news/tips-for-making-sure-your-new-years-resolutions-stick/article_8cd14b54-17fd-51a9-ab5a-89859e6e34c4.html

 

I scheduled another piece to post five minutes after this to discuss my February Resolution and you can read that HERE.

 

For more pieces like this, please go to The Michael Beebe so you can be part of the fun. 

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