It’s Resolution Time
By Joe Rector
Thousands of folks, perhaps even millions of them, will begin the year 2025 with pledges to change things in their lives. We have a way of trying to start each year with resolutions to better ourselves. Some people feel the stress of not having a resolution for the coming year and worry for the next 365 days that they’ve somehow failed themselves and the world.
I, too, in the past have made those resolutions. I promised as a young man to give up the foul habit of smoking. I swore that I would begin to exercise more. One year, I even promised to give up swearing.
I did give up cigarettes, but not as a New Year’s Resolution. My parents and older brother died from cancer caused by smoking. Daddy was 53 when he passed; my brother had turned 54 only a couple of weeks before he died. I was 50 when he died and realized that I might only have a couple of years left unless I gave up the habit. That was over 20 years ago, and I have no doubt that I would be dead and gone if I hadn’t quit smoking.
Over the years, I have tried to exercise more. I could work all day and perform heavy labor, but the fact was that I didn’t want to complete an exercise program after working outside all day. I did build a chin-up bar, and little by little, I improved from doing a half a pull-up to doing three sets of them that totaled 30 reps.
Most of our resolutions for a new year are forgotten or discarded within weeks, if not days. I am a creature of habit, and I don’t adapt easily. A new activity must become a part of my daily routine if I am to succeed with it. I figure most other people are like me. They grow comfortable with their lives and try not to upset the balance they’ve formulated. Nothing makes a person more hateful than to have his life interrupted with something that is meant to improve himself.
I discovered that quitting smoking couldn’t be done on my own. I searched for a psychologist and, with her help, I was able to give up the habit. Yes, she used hypnosis, but that was used as a relaxation technique to use in times of cravings. My plan was to quit on the first day of a new school year; hers was to have me quit during the summer. She told me that I would not give up cigarettes if I waited for the stress of a new year to begin. I’m sure she was right. Over 20 years ago, I quit smoking and I thank her and the good lord for allowing me to follow through with this resolution.
Not until I’d reached my 40s did I run a mile. Then I began doing “the fat man jog” everyday, and I put in the work. I reached two miles a day, and the jog became an obsession. I’d run in the rain and even the snow. When my back problems reached critical mass, I had to quit the running. These days, just walking too long is enough to set my back, hips, and legs afire.
When a gym membership came with my old age insurance, I took advantage of it. I hate to lift weights but, because of my age, doing so is necessary to keep from going downhill too soon. A routine of three sets of 12 exercises usually takes about an hour, and after I finish, my body is filled with energy to do other things around the house. Of course, one of those things is napping on the couch with the dogs.
Yes, I resolved to stop cursing. People often say those who use such words have limited intelligence or vocabularies. I suppose they are right in their assessment, but sometimes, a curse word best fits the emotions that arise in situations. I try to confine most of my sailor language to home or among friends whose mouths are as dirty as mine.
Beginning the year with resolutions most often seems to be a waste of time. Luckily, I have carried through on the most important ones. As for the others, I’ll resolve to see them succeed some other time. This coming year, I’m going to simply live each day as it comes and hope that no more aches, pains, or sorrows come knocking at my door. All we can do is the best we know how to do. Enjoy the coming year without regrets. That will make life more wonderful than any resolution.
