Welcome, 2008!

Resolution:
1. a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group.
2. a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.
3. the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.
4. the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.

I like the fourth definition the best - firmness of purpose. How many resolutions have you made, either this year or any other year? How many did you succeed in keeping? For me, the "firmness of purpose" didn't last long - maybe a month at best. Then the newness wore off.

In my job I type reports for a diabetes clinic. The patients have a pattern of behavior once they are newly diagnosed with diabetes. At first they are completely compliant with their carbohydrate counting, insulin regimens, and blood sugar monitoring. Doctors actually have a name for this - it is called the honeymoon period. In the reports that I type, if a patient is doing extremely well and was only recently diagnosed, the doctor states the fact that the patient is doing extremely well, but then adds the caveat, "but the patient is still in the honeymoon period." Later when the patient's monitoring and carb counting becomes a little more erratic and their compliance begins to slip, then the doctor might say that they are "out of their honeymoon period."

Each January first begins a new honeymoon period. I have now come to believe that when you make a resolution, the hardest part is keeping it after the novelty of the new whatever-it-was- you-resolved-to-do has worn off. That is where the firmness of purpose needs to come in! Anyone can make a resolution - keeping to it is a resolution in itself.

I will share with you my resolutions for this year. I have not included the resolution to keep my resolutions once their shininess has worn off, because that applies to all of them and so I have mentioned it here.

1. Do I need to say it? To lose weight. I am trying some new tactics this time around and truly hope that this is the last year I will make this resolution, but if not, that brings us to:
2. To love myself just the way I am - having lost weight or not. To realize that I have qualities and talents that are not based in any way on what the scale says.
3. To be more transparent with those around me and in this blog. Fear has kept me from posting many things - fear of sharing inner thoughts and feelings, and fear of what others might think of me. This resolution ties in closely with #2 - that I am uniquely ME and that my thoughts and feelings are valid, and it does not really matter what others think of me.
4. To hold my tongue! I have a terrible habit of speaking before I think. Although it doesn't seem so at the time, biting your lip and not saying something is actually easier in the long run than trying to take back something said in haste once it's left your lips.
5. To be less judgemental. To remember what scripture tells us, "For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you." (Matt. 7:1)

So, in the interest of Resolution #3, I have been transparent in sharing these with you. Now I would like to know what resolutions you set for yourselves. You can post anonymous comments to this blog and they are indeed anonymous. I do not know who you are if you choose to post anonymously, nor do I want to know. I thought it would be interesting to share what other resolutions people are making. Unfortunately, I do have to add that if a comment is unseemly or deemed inappropriate, I will delete it and it will not be posted. No, this is not a violation of Resolution #5 - I'm not judging anyone, I just choose not to have offensive language and/or remarks on my blog.

Okay - the invitation is out there. What's your "firmness of purpose" for this new year?