Happy New Year....kinda

Happy New Year! (Well it's still relatively new..)

Here we go! It’s time to take on 2012!  Well we've already taken it on...mostly. Can you believe it? I think everyone has, by now, become accustomed to signing 2012on your checks (you still use those right?). It’s now the time of year we all look at those New Year's Resolutions and determine whether or not we are succeeding.  They seem to always have something to do with how we are, or were, going to better ourselves. Let’s look at them by the numbers:

1. Lose Weight

2. Get Organized

3. Spend Less

4. Save More

5. Get In Shape

6. Learn To ______

7. Quit Smoking

8. Find Love

9. Spend Time W/Family

So which ones are yours? Most of these things certainly focus on ourselves. This isn’t such a bad thing, but what happens when they start to unravel? Here comes the regret and the feelings of low self worth and discipline. Now, let me ask you, if you resolved to spend 1 hour at lunch with your best friend, would you regret it? If you resolved to go on a date with your wife or your daughter, would you have that feeling of incompletion? How about that fraction of time when you can tell your child has something on their mind and if you take just a few minutes to dig into the problem and then spend an hour teaching them how to navigate life, how great is that reward? I only say all of this to ask you to make a resolution to actually do something that will produce a feeling of self-worth with no regret. I’m not discouraging quitting smoking or eating less, but I’m saying that some of the easiest things we can resolve to do will produce a lifetime of joy for you and for someone else.

-Michael