resolution
Pronunciation: /rɛzəˈluːʃ(ə)n/ Noun 1 a firm decision to do or not to
do something
New year, new beginnings.
Every year, sometime around January 1st, I find
myself mulling over a list of items I’d like to accomplish for the year. My list is usually more detailed, but
includes such things as Organize, Build, Clean, Diet, Exercise, Read, Learn, Create,
Stop. My intentions are good, and I
might actually stick with it for a while, but usually by March or so, I lose
interest – or worse, I forget. EVERY year.
So, what’s to make 2013 any different?
Maybe I’ve been approaching it all wrong. I tend to look at my list of resolutions as a
whole, instead of focusing on one thing at a time. Common sense even tells me that some of my
resolutions will be easier to keep – or accomplish – than others, just as
learning some skills are easier than others.
Take tying your shoes. When I
learned to tie my shoes, it was difficult at first, but I managed to get it
done, and eventually, I could tie one shoe at a time with my eyes closed. But, what if I tried to tie both shoes at the same time? Would it have
worked? Probably not. In fact, even with all of my shoe-tying
experience, I don’t see how I could tie them both at once, unless I tied them
together. But then, what would be the
point?
Henry Ford once said, “a weakness of all human beings is
trying to do too many things at once.
That scatters effort and destroys direction.” (I wonder what he would think of today’s
mentality about multi-tasking….?) I
suppose he’s saying that focusing on one thing at a time isn’t a handicap –
maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.
Single-tasking forces us to concentrate on one thing at a time, so that
at least one thing gets done with our full
attention. What a novel idea!
I’m thinking that this year, I’ll focus on one thing at a
time. Maybe I’ll get to the end of 2013,
look back, and say “Wow! I sure got a lot done!” Then again, if I can’t prioritize my
resolutions, I may look back and say “Darn! I should have put ‘stop
procrastinating’ at the top.”
