“Whereas the ordinary resolve to
change, the noble succeed at it.”
A resolution as defined by Webster
is the power of holding firmly to a purpose. However, in our society, resolutions tend to
be flimsy promises we make to ourselves without a serious commitment. They
often vary from losing weight, to making more money or quitting a bad habit, just
to name a few. Often, when we don’t see the required results we give up on our
resolutions and just go back to doing what we always did before.
Not to my credit, I tend to complain
far too often. For example, at my favorite convenience store sometimes the
cashier accidently charges me ten cents more because my coffee mug looks larger
than it is. Often I do not realize it till after I get the receipt and then I
grow frustrated. So, sometimes in an attempt to avert this injustice, I will
sternly tell the attendant at the counter, “No it’s a 12 ounce, not a 16
ounce”. What an idiot I am. Fortunately, that mug recently broke and
hopefully now I have learned to be less petty.
Second two cents- SPEAK WISER
Unfortunately, I have a history of
speaking before thinking. Many years ago when I was in my early twenties I was
at a high school football game and I started making fun of the opposing
school’s marching band. If my memory serves me correctly the band decided to
perform a theatrical presentation where they danced around with a giant blue
ball supposedly representing the world. As I started making fun of their effort
a woman from that school’s band, deservingly so, turned around and let me have
it.
You would think that I would have
learned from that, but about six months ago I made a similar disparaging
remark. . While I was talking to a fellow employee I made a flippant remark
about something he was wearing. The offended person, fueled by the emotion of
the moment, let me have it, as the comment overshadowed the rest of our time
together and ruined the conversation. I simply should have kept it to myself,
because once you offend someone over an opinion, good luck ever winning them
back.
Third two cents- TRY HARDER
“ Ever tried. Ever failed. No
matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” This quote by Samuel
Beckett is one of my favorites because it inspires me, not to be perfect, but
to keep making the effort. This thought pattern tends to go along with
complaining less. Instead of talking about the problem, when you try harder you
can do something about it to improve your situation, more times than not.
Especially with the way the economy is right now, there is no better time than
to be hard at work, rather than whining woe is me.
Fourth two cents- PRAY MORE
In my opinion, God does not need me
to pray because He needs my advice. He asks me to so I can be on the same page
He is on. Prayer is something I need to make a bigger priority because I find
that when I do God answers some prayers before I even pray them. Like He was
just waiting for me to humble myself and ask Him what he wanted to do. And why
shouldn’t I be doing that every minute of the day. I believe God created the
world in six days, so I very well need his help and guidance, not the other way
around.
Fifth two cents - BE ENERGETIC
Whatever you do, don’t be like
Eyeore. People are drawn to people who have enthusiasm, not people who are
always complaining and are tired all the time. To be honest this is a big
struggle for me since by nature I am someone who is not a morning person or a
late night person. So to get through the day I depend on coffee, adrenaline and
a daily walk that gets the blood flowing. Regardless of the fact I struggle
with being tired, when I am awake I want to be alert and positive and make the
most of everyday, like it might be my last.
So, as we begin this year, I don’t
know about you, but I am resolving to improve on last year’s version of myself.
Well, at least that’s my ten cents worth on the subject.
Swavel
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