A Year of Resolutions

Greetings from Powell!

Right now I’m on the last day of a short stay with my parents and brother in Ohio, where I was born and raised.  I just finished this blog and I figured I might as well post it from here.  Hope everyone’s holiday went well!

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As mentioned in one of my previous blogs, I have decided to do something a little different for this New Years.  Almost every year, I make a resolution, and almost every year, I’ve forgotten what it was by the end of the year.  Case in point:  I have no idea what I resolved to do this year.  So for 2012 I am going to keep up with my resolution.

But a year is a long time to keep a promise you made yourself probably tipsy on champagne.  And it can get boring.  So to keep it fresh, I am making a year’s worth of New Year’s resolutions, but I am doing them in one-month intervals.  I will inform you of my progress at the end of each month.  And who knows?  Maybe I’ll even keep up my new-found good habits, but no promises.

Just like anyone who’s ever dealt with smartasses in his life, I will add one disclaimer:  These are subject to change as I start working with them.  They might not be feasible if something comes up, or if I think of more clever ideas I may implement them instead.

Okay, so two disclaimers:  I don’t know that I’ll successful at all of these, but I’m going to try darn hard.

If anyone wants to join me on any one or all of these, feel free!  Although I’ve personalized them for me, they’re probably ones it wouldn’t hurt any of us to try.  If you decide to give one/all of them a go, let me know how you’re doing via email or a comment.  After all, misery loves company, right?

January:  Stop biting/picking nails

I am one of many people with the unfortunate and unsanitary habit of biting and picking my nails.  I’ve done it ever since I can remember.  When I was in high school, I occasionally would do it until I bled.  As a health care provider, it is especially important for me to kick this habit, as it can give bacteria and other pathogens an all-access backstage pass into my body.  As well as to myself, I have an obligation to my patients not to give all of them what one of them has.

February:  Forgo all forms of dessert except healthy alternatives

This is probably going to be my hardest resolution, as I have a major sweet tooth.  Yes, I realize this falls on Valentine’s Day, but February is also the shortest month, so I think it evens out.  By the way, “healthy alternatives” does not mean carrot cake.  It means an apple or orange.

March:  Spend a few minutes reading the news every day

It’s always good to be informed and all too often someone will mention some world event and I take on the look of a deer in headlights.  Reading 2 – 3 articles a day for a month will only serve to make me a more informed citizen.

April:  Abstain from consuming any alcohol

I am by no means a heavy or even moderate drinker, but I do enjoy a good Kentucky Ale or glass of merlot from time to time.  I don’t predict any difficulty in achieving this one, but you never know:  Once you take something away from someone, maybe it will make him/her want it more.

May:  Do 100 pushups a day

I try to get in some cardio at least three times a week, often more, but since I have no gym membership my resistance training has been somewhat lacking.  I figure that pushups are easy enough because it requires no gym; if you have a floor, you can do pushups.  And if you don’t have a floor, well, please tell me your secret for incessant hovering.  This resolution is carefully worded to not include the words “in a row.”  At first I’ll do four sets of 25, then move towards two sets of 50.  Heck, maybe I’ll get to the full 100 but in the timeframe of a month I seriously doubt it.

June:  Go vegetarian for the month

While I may not be a huge steak fancier, I absolutely love a good, juicy burger.  Going vegetarian is something I’ve always had huge respect for because it takes great discipline and in addition it’s the single most effective way to reduce your carbon footprint (turns out getting a Prius isn’t it!).  In addition, it’s not taking part in the rampant overuse of antibiotics fed to animals which is a huge contributor to the emergence of the “superbugs” you hear about now.  This one won’t at all be easy for me, but I highly encourage you to join me.

July:  Do one hour of community service for every day of the month

Giving back to the community is self-gratifying for the very reason that you’re selflessly doing something nice and it often puts you into contact with people that teach you new things and just make you feel good.  I don’t know what exactly I’m going to do yet for this one but there are two stipulations:  One, it is not something I plan to put on any resume or application (that wouldn’t be very selfless, would it?) and two, I am probably not going to do it in one-hour increments but probably in several large shifts (for obvious scheduling reasons).  I have deliberately picked a month where I will have a bit more free time since my program of study doesn’t go over the summer.

August:  Avoid soft drinks of any kind

This one I used to make at the beginning of several years, but I found that if I said I was going to avoid soda, I started drinking something equally unhealthy, such as lemonade or fruit juice (and yes, I know you thought that juice was healthy.  It really isn’t.)  I have dramatically cut back on my regular soda consumption, but I probably have a diet soda nearly every day, so that will have to go as well.  Basically I will just drink water except for black coffee and unsweetened tea.  If you are joining me on this one, alcoholic beverages in moderation are excluded because I assume you have them only at home and not during the course of your workday.  I hope.

September:  Keep a journal every day

This one I’m actually drawing on my psychology background for.  There are many advantages of keeping a journal/diary.  For one thing, it can help you organize your thoughts and look back with introspection on the day.  Being aware of your own behaviors, feelings, and thoughts makes you much more likely to be able to sort through them.  It can help you find patterns you never noticed before and help eliminate unhealthy habits or confront issues you never felt well-armed enough to tackle.  Sure enough, peer-reviewed studies have shown that participants who wrote a journal three times a week had lower incidences of depression and even physical health issues than their counterparts who wrote about a control topic. 

Just one thing, if you’re with me on this one:  Keep your journal in a safe place.  No one wants his/her deepest secrets available for public view.  There are many websites and applications that require a username/password to get in.  I myself will use a feature of Microsoft Word that requires a password to open the document.

October:  Learn a new word every day

Me have good vocabulary.  But me want expand vocabulary.  Me will use word-a-day website to expand vocabulary.  Me talk pretty one day.

November:  Meditate 5 minutes a day

My psychology background is coming in again for this one.  Apparently people who meditate are healthier psychologically and physiologically than people who don’t, on average.  I will admit this has always sounded kind of stupid to me, but after reading more and more about its benefits, well, who am I to judge?  Obviously before I try this one I will have to do some learning as to how to actually meditate effectively, so it has a learning component involved.  On or near November 1 I will try to post a blog with my findings so you can follow along if you like.

December:  You tell me!

I’m sure throughout the year I will have received plenty of suggestions on resolutions to try.  By December I will have more than enough to select one to try, and of course I will credit the person who suggested it.  So leave a comment or send me an email sometime between now and near the end of 2012.  I’ll be happy to consider it!