It’s been a week since the ball has dropped and I’m yet to settle on a solid resolution for 2024. I have a ton that I could work on – lose a few pounds, workout more, save some money, or commit to writing as much as I used to.
I feel like I’ve tried these resolutions before. So, issue #1 in trying to set my intentions at this point in life is that doing so reminds me of numerous past failures. A part of me feels like I don’t want to fall short of: becoming a prolific writer, or in staking a savings account Dave Ramsey would be proud of (again).
Yep, during middle age, setting a resolution sure feels like a quick inventory of past shortcomings.
Plan B for me is to set resolutions that are ultra personal. For example, should I be intentional about taking another step in my novice guitar playing? Should I commit to more time spent doing something that only I benefit from? Not the kids, just me!
Issue #2: when making time to chase something that only really impacts you, but taking action will effect others around you (ie: your kids and wife), I feel destined to fail at this stage of life. During middle age, where evening and weekends tend to be dominated by soccer games or dance classes, devoting time/energy to a selfish endeavor – no matter how worthy – feels, well, selfish.
Plan C: I settle on setting a resolution that does the opposite of what experts tell you – something super high level and completely un – “S.M.A.R.T.” (Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound”). Maybe I set my intention to “be nice each day”, or to “laugh”, or to “find the fun in all situations – work or play”? These feel more appropriate for my hectic life but very generic.
Whatever.
I’m too busy to think further about this. I’ll set something an expert would hate and let it rip. Damn the experts, my 2024 intention is to smile more. Yes, smile more – that is as specific as I need to be. This isn’t reliably measurable. I don’t plan to tick-mark each positive vibe I give off with my (semi) pearly whites.
Nope.
Smiling more is, though, achievable – but totally debatable if success starts with measuring anything. Smiling more is not time bound in the least, but, here I am anyway.
I don’t just want to smile more, I need to.
I want to.
I plan to smile through all of the busy, teenage issues, through the endless lists of things to do and that which I haven’t been able to get done. I want to smile more because I am fortunate. And, even though I’m going against the goal-setting experts’ simplest (ie: SMART-est) concepts, I plan to execute my resolution by taking a moment at some point each day to mentally tell myself the following:
“I’m nice.”
“I’m pretty damned good at this.”
“It is worth it.”
I’ll feel a bit goofy attempting to drill these into my head (queue the Stewart Smalley/Al Franken soothing voice). I need, though, something (albeit goofy) to grasp onto that keeps these concepts in front of me daily – through my high school senior’s impending graduation, through minor annoyances that have derailed me, through conference calls late into the night that take me away from a normal bedtime.
And, along the way, maybe the positive energy generated from smiling more compels me to so more things I love – like to write more often.
At least I hope so – because I endeavor to be “pretty damned good” at this someday, too.
Happy New Year!
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