From the Editor's Desk

Oh, boy. . . it's that time again - the time when everyone starts talking about New Year's Resolutions.

Although I was raised to always take time each December and make a list of "resolutions" or goals for the coming year, as an adult I'm starting to feel like that is a silly practice. What makes January 1st different than any other day? Why should we wake up one day out of the year and decide to really try to do the things that we should actually be doing all year long? I've realized that for myself, if I'm not doing something right in July, August, or September, I'm probably not going to in January either. And as a matter of fact, having a list of all the things I wished were better about myself probably just adds to the stress of life anyway.

According to some intense double-blinded scientific research I performed myself on Google, the most common New Year's resolutions are to lose weight, get in shape, save money/pay off debt, get a better job, and to quit smoking.

Gyms across the country report anywhere from a 10 - 40 percent increase in membership sales at the beginning of the year. Being the humanitarian that I am, I think I'll sacrifice buying a new gym membership to make room for everyone else. There are a few movies I've really been meaning to watch. . .

I think putting off your goals until the new year is a cop out anyway. Anyone who says "this goal is really, really important to me - I'm going to start/quit right after [fill in the blank]" is not serious when they say how important it is. If you realize something you are doing that is affecting you negatively, then isn't right now, whenever right now may be, the time to change your mindset and do something about it? If not, it just gets lumped with all the other "I'll-do-it-tomorrow's."

I say let us make things easier on ourselves this year. No more setting New Year's resolutions - instead of putting all that pressure on ourselves and setting ourselves up for disappiontment, let's just wait until we're really ready to make positive changes in our lives. That's the only time it's going to happen anyway. I can tell you until I'm blue in the face how rotten and dangerous smoking is, but the truth is you're going to do it anyway, at least until something personal smacks you upside the head and makes you realize for yourself. In fact, about 25 percent of you are smoking right now as you read this article. On that same note, you can tell me how bad drinking soda all day is for me but I can promise you now, I'm not going to stop today just because it's January!

On a similar note, I have realized something very important about life's goals and milestones. If you wait until you have more time/money/energy etc. then nothing will ever change. Life really is about making the things that are important to you a priority and giving those priorities your all. Sure, you may not have extra time in your schedule to ride your stationary bike however you have time to watch Survivor - that means that recreation is your priority, not exercise. There's no right or wrong here, it's just a matter of what's most important to you.

I'm not going to quit drinking soda this month, but someday, when it's important enough to me, I will. However, every single day there are things I want to better that I focus on and make time for. This year, I haven't made New Year's resolutions because I have been steadily working toward certain things since the summer. Well, that and I don't want to be the reason the gym is overcrowded.