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GUEST OPINION
It is time to think about my resolutions for the new year. I have done this for more years than I can count, but when I decided to write about them, I looked up the meaning to find out what I had really been doing. I found it interesting that Webster defines “resolution” only in the negative. “A firm decision not to do something.” All my past resolutions have been wishy washy decisions to do something. So, I need to change my terminology, and call them “New Years Promises”. That way, they can be either positive or negative.
The first recorded New Year’s Promise was made by an Assyrian farmer over 4000 years ago. He promised to return the tools he borrowed from his neighbor. The Assyrian new year was the beginning of the planting season. I wonder if that farmer procrastinated returning the tools until after he planted his crop or, as I have been prone to do, did he forget about the promise altogether? If I am to be able to keep my New Year’s Promises, I need to treat them like military objectives. Keepable promises need to be clearly defined and reasonably doable.
Clearly defined includes time. Our ancient farmer didn’t say when he was going to return his neighbor’s tools, so he never really had a promise to break. The most common New Year’s Promise today is to lose weight. To be clearly defined I will need to say how much weight and by what date. Reasonably doable should be self-evident. There is no way I could lose fifty pounds without cutting off a leg or two. That’s just not reasonable. World peace and global warming are out of my control, and thus not doable. A few years ago, the most common resolution was to not smoke anymore.
I can’t have that as a New Year’s Promise, as I have put off my next cigarette for over three decades. If it is already done, it is not doable.
I have a very short list I believe meet all criteria. I, like the majority who make New Year’s promises, believe I might feel better if I shed a few pounds. So, I hereby promise to weigh less than 230 pounds on my next birthday. I won’t tell you what I weigh now, but what I promised is reasonable. I also promise to write at least four new songs this year and practice my guitar for 30 minutes a day five days a week. There is no good reason except that I feel a sense of accomplishment writings songs, and poetry is a widow into the soul.
I would like to promise to exercise every day, but I am afraid I may hurt myself. I would also like to promise to earn my keep, but as I get older, I find myself more and more reliant on family and friends. I would also like to be a positive influence on my grand-children, but that can only be defined by my grand-children. Maybe that is how it should be. It would be great if we all promised to do what little we each can do to make the world a better place.
FRANK WATSON IS A RETIRED AIR FORCE COLONEL AND LONG-TIME RESIDENT OF EASTERN WASHINGTON. HE HAS BEEN A FREE-LANCE COLUMNIST FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
