Dec 29th 09 Posted in General, Marlene Bernstein - contributing editor

this year will be different?

I am not a big resolution maker! I might be judged harshly for saying this, but the only resolution I usually make this time of year…is not to make one. I have disappointed myself too many times. Actually, when mid-January hits, I have usually forgotten my resolution.

Recently I started reading tons of “top resolution lists” before writing this article and they are all the same; lose weight, exercise, stop smoking or drinking, spend more time with the family, make more money, etc. What does this mean?  Are we all the same? These are after all, the best selling self help book subjects!

According to Psychology Today, about 40 percent to 45 percent of Americans make resolutions each New Year’s, says John Norcross, distinguished professor of clinical psychology at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.  But, according to his research, less than half of the pledges pan out.

So what is it about the first of January that makes us strive to reinvent ourselves, year after year? Is it the newness, the fresh start, the official get out of jail free card?  “Successful people had the same number of slips early in January as people who would ultimately be unsuccessful, but it was how one dealt with those slips” that mattered, Norcross continued to say. Hmmm…that is an interesting concept. (pause and think a bit)

I was reading a friends blog  last week and she wrote something brilliant that really stuck in my mind. She said, “a SET BACK is only a SET UP for a COME BACK”

I really like this idea!  I am going to pledge to myself to live 2010 celebrating that concept.  This might be an official resolution, but I’m not sure!

All this resolution research got me thinking, if we couldn’t list any of the “popular” resolutions, but got more specific, how would you finish the following sentence?  Join Scene readers in putting your answer in the comments of this blog.

This year I am going to…………………..

Thanks for reading Scene In SCV, Happy New Year and see you in the Comments

 

4 Responses to “this year will be different?”

1. Marlene Bernstein says:

   December 29, 2009 at 10:04 am

   ride my bike more
2. the motivator lady says:

   December 29, 2009 at 5:42 pm

   I’m honored that you quoted me. Thanx 1,00000! It’s so true, isn’t it? LOVE your site and especially the blog…I am always interested in reading the “inside scoop” on our local scene. You do it so well!
   Thanx again,
   …the motivator lady
3. Deborah Gardiner says:

   December 29, 2009 at 5:59 pm

   I am going to stay off refined sugar!
4. Susan Fujiki says:

   December 30, 2009 at 10:42 am

   I am going to find my inner spirit I had in my 20′s again.