Every year I write up a set of new years resolutions, and unlike most people, every single year I manage
to achieve most of them. My opinion is these are promises to yourself, and all promises must be kept, no matter how difficult.
One of the primary attributes of a person of good character is how well he keeps his word. Does a person
pay his debts? Does he or she lightly give his word, only to "forget" later or to claim it wasn't important? A person of good character also knows the difference
between "the letter of the law" and the actual meaning, and tends to deliver far more than was actually stated. In fact, these types of people tend to have great joy
and feel fulfilled as they complete their obligations.
Even more broadly, a person of good character keeps "implied" promises. These are promises made to a group
because one is a member of the group. For example, by being granted a driver's license, you have joined a group called "legal drivers" and you implicitly promise to
obey traffic laws, to drive in a rational manner and other similar things. By being an America citizen, in another example, you agree to abide by the laws of the
land, to perhaps serve on jury duty, to take part in elections and so on.
Thus, you can quickly measure the "character" of a person by how well he or she keeps their promises,
explicit and implied. For example, does a person pay back his debts to everyone cheerfully, on time and without fail? Or does he only pay those that "he needs to" and
spends the remainder of his money on silly things?
What does all of this have to do with New Years Resolutions? Well, these are promises to yourself to make
changes (often dramatic) in your life.
A well written New Years resolutions has several parts. First, what is the promise; second, how will you
deliver on that promise, and third, how do you measure success? For example, a common New Years resolution is to lose weight. A good way to write this would be "I
promise to lose weight, by joining an exercise program and attending three days a week as well as following a healthy diet. I will lose 4 pounds per month".
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I promise to do one good thing for someone every single day. This will be done without expectation of a
return favor. Since I spend much of my time on the internet, this typically means to review a web site, sign a guestbook, give some advice or something similar to
this.
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I promise to write at least one article every single day, and more if possible.
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I promise to clear up all words related to my employment.
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I promise to write and mail at least one query letter every single day.
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I promise to increase my own vocabulary by learning and completely understanding at least a dozen new
words every day.
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I promise to clear up the subjects of grammar, punctuation and writing style by reading and
understanding books on the subject.
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I promise to support my wife in her endeavors and to back her up constantly. Every single day I will
find something about my wife that I can compliment and deliver that compliment to her. I will also talk to her every single day, and listen to what she has to say.
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I promise to continually keep our marriage alive and well by never taking her or the marriage or
granted. I will continuously create the marriage every single day.
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I promise to support my son, and help him in his life's endeavors, as well as to teach him how to
support himself in abundance and to encourage him to do so.
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I promise to be a competent employee and a fair and just manager, by treating my people with respect and
earning their respect. I will find at least one good thing to say about my employees every single work day.
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I promise to remain completely ethical, to promptly report and/or handle any unethical activities that I
observe and to not tolerate any unethical activities in my vicinity.
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I promise to improve my own spiritual well being by attending religious classes every weekend (16 hours
per week).
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I promise to remain physically healthy by living an ethical life. I will not be sick at all and will
take no drugs excluding that needed for occasional migraine headaches.
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I promise to maintain a clean and safe working environment, home and automobile.
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I promise to examine all of the books and written materials that we own and reduce the volume to those
that we intend to read, enjoy or have read and may read again (also keeping a good set of reference materials). Any written materials which are not likely to be
read within a few years will be donated or destroyed.
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I promise to cease watching the news on television, reading the newspaper and viewing news websites as
these do not report the news but instead glamorize violence and sexual perversion, promote evil and spread dissention. There is absolutely no need to view the
normal public news outlets.
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I promise to learn how to be a leader, how to be viewed as a leader and how to act like a leader. I will
become a leader in my workplace, my home, on the internet and in my community.
Claudia''s New Years Resolutions
I have only two resolutions for 2002.
Quit Smoking
and
loose 100 pounds
