Perennial resolutions

Hello to all!

Okay, Christmas is just a heartbeat away, and New Year's not far behind. Time for all the old Resolutions to surface. Or are you sick and tired of making New Year's Resolutions that you never keep anyway? Well, you aren't lonely. Probably three quarters of the entire world don't manage to keep even one of their said-with-hand-on-heart resolutions, and that includes those of us who are either smart enough not to make any or simply do not let anyone know what they have resolved to do/not to do/ gain something/lose something.

Mind you, this last one is very hard to do, as in NOT telling anyone what you have planned. For some reason, keeping resolutions secret is harder for some than breaking the two-minute mile would be. Or leaving that last eclair on the plate.

The perennial: Lose X amount of weight. It doesn't sound too hard.If you say it quickly. But who wants to walk an extra kilometre to work when God-knows what may be watching you and hoping for a chance to strike? Better keep the weight. No. It really is not. Grab a long-suffering colleague who has plenty of patience and who travels the same way as you and rope them into walking with you. Preferably a male, but anyone will do. With any luck, they may just be courteous enough to agree, or they may need to lose a few spare pounds themselves. Either way, you have more chance of remaining safe, and getting a bit more exercise.

 Another perennial: I am definitely giving up smoking. Yeah, right. You know all the don'ts concerning quitting. You know all the good reasons for doing so. You just cannot get it right. This is a really hard one. having quit the dreaded weed myself, I know how hard it can be. I learned those lessons and more the first three times I tried to quit. (By the way, the average tries a smoker has before he/she succeeds is four or five.) I was so frustrated with myself I took to chewing gum, the nonsmoking stuff. And I used it far longer than the recommended time too, I was so determined. Somebody up there must like me, because I got to the end of the second week  with the chewing gum, and slowly began to cut back. I must admit, a very dear friend of mine died a painful death from a smoking-related disease around the same time as I decided to quit, so I had another good reason to stop, apart from my daughter who was not that old then.

So don't regard a slip-back as having fallen big-time off the wagon. If you find yourself with a cigarette in hand, but not lit, place it back in the pack and give whoever you believe in a heartfelt thanks. If you are actually smoking it, think of all the nasty things it is doing and feel what your body is feeling when you inhale. Is your heart starting to gallop? Are you breathing faster? Has that ghastly cough sprung from where it has been hiding, just waiting to cause you grief again? If you take notice of these factors, the thought of the damage being done may shame you into stopping immediately. If it does not, simply smoke the cigarette to the end, stub it out and commence deep-breathing. Tell yourself you are not a failure and try to stop the next time happening. I once smoked 75 cigarettes a day, more if I was stressed. I learned very fast to cope with my stress by any other means I could, and kept healthy pink lungs working perfectly in my mind. I even drank water as soon as I felt the urge to smoke. My bladder and kidneys hated me. :)

So, the best  of luck with whichever resolutions you are about to make.I hope you manage to succeed with whatever they are. But, don't give up. Rome wasn't built in a day, as the saying goes. So, when you tink you've failed, simply pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get straight back on that horse. If you succeed for one or two days, then flop, simply challenge yourself to go an extra day next time. YOU WILL GET THERE. Where ever there is!