Orleans Weekly Journal
Published: Friday, January 11, 2008 Some resolutions are worth sticking out So, have you broken all your New Years resolutions yet? Still working out at the gym? Stick with it friend and the crowd will thin out by the end of this month and drop off noticeably by early March. Or perhaps you resolved to quit smoking, again. Please stick with it… for yourself, for your family and for your friends. A smoke-free home, clothes that no longer stink and a better chance at a longer life are all worth it in the end. How about that resolution you made to be more patient, thoughtful, or to think more and speak less? Are you still on track or did that abusive retail clerk or crazy driver this morning blow this one as well? Take a deep breath and try to get back on track. Maybe your focus for 2008 is to get a grip, financially speaking, and follow a family budget. This one is usually pretty easy to keep throughout January since you blew all your money Christmas shopping anyway. The real test comes when you get that juicy tax refund in the next month or two. Pay the bills first, then and only then should you splurge on something special or look for a last-minute flight south. Which brings us to another common resolution – doing your taxes early as opposed to scrambling in April. So, after reading this column, call or e-mail your accountant or hit the web to order the 2007 version of your favourite tax preparation software. Next up, the D-word: diet. Let me wax eloquently here for a moment and with little respect to the diet industry scam artist, 95 per cent of all diets don’t work. Permanent lifestyle changes, smarter choices and consistent eating habits do. I personally try to follow the Myrtle Beach diet (trademarked by me) … it’s a cross between Atkins and South Beach. It’s simple, really: a portion of protein with every meal, avoid starchy carbs at dinner, a little red wine at night, lots of colour variety in your fruits and veggies and stay away from white death – white flour and white sugar – at all costs. The bottom line with resolutions is that you will never keep all of them, such is human nature. However, if you can drop 15 pounds in 2008, get a little more exercise, re-discover the joy of reading, salt away a few more bucks for life’s rainy days or upgrade your skills to become more valuable to everyone at work, it’s worth the struggle. As for my resolutions, the gym is calling my name, there’s a stack of books begging to be read, and my face aches from the perma-smile I’ve worn since New Year’s Day. And I resolve I will not write about resolutions again until 2009. My word count is up and the bottom of this page is near. Time to go online and order new cheques, as I’ve botched my last stash of them by writing 2007 in the date field. Ugh! |