New Year's Resolutions Are Lame. Maybe It's Because I Don't Make Them Anymore.

Let’s face it:  New Year’s resolutions are a load of poppycock.

I know you’re thinking the same thing, but you continue to make them year in and year out with limited (if any) success. Before you waste your snide comments on keystrokes that won’t matter in six minutes, here’s why I am saying that – and the same clichés aren’t worth the energy exerted in breathing them out. 

For example:

I want to exercise and lose weight. Exercise is fine and dandy and weight loss is a byproduct of a healthier lifestyle, but what are you going to do differently to quantify your results/quest to a healthier you? I’d love to get back down to 180 lbs., but it I am only sitting around drinking beer and destroying fast food at every turn and not walking, then what am I doing? The first step is the hardest step, and all of the others will come easier.

I want to be debt-free. Except for a sixty-day period in 2013, that hasn’t happened to me since the ‘90s – before I had responsibilities. It’s easier to attack smaller balances and working your way up to the larger ones until the debts are satisfied. However, it does not mean pay off everything only to charge it back up for anniversaries, vacations, Christmas, etc. Besides, how much do you value your own time and independence?

The above is why I started a ‘f**k it fund’ – it is the amount of money I can live on without having to feel trapped by any employer. For those of us under 62, it’s those retirement dollars that my man Brooks and numerous financial professionals tell us to prepare for every day. My ‘f**k it fund’ truthfully is small:  only six months’ mortgage and car payments assuming I am wise enough not to use either credit card and stick to the day-to-day necessities such as lights, gas, internet, groceries, etc.

I want someone to validate me. What, God doesn’t matter? He loves you, but I’m sure you’re talking about a physical man/woman next to you whispering sweet nothings. Looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right as a resolution can lead to some really sketchy stuff down the road…or to greatness. Then again, I’m very happily married and the father of an exceptional baby daughter, so what do I know?

I want a better job in 2016. I’ve said this since I started working way back in 1995, and I will still keep saying this as long as I am in the workforce. Make a table of things you want to do at your next job; the things that are absolute deal breakers; and what are you doing to get said exposure to the next opportunity. For me, two certain deal breakers will be working on Sundays and no opportunity to grow, perceived or authentic. As much as I would like a Monday through Friday work week, I have to make a certain amount of money to not only maintain the current lifestyle but also the possibilities in what the next job may offer must align with my moral code as well as the necessary advancement to stave off boredom. Moreover, find out the qualifiers in your dream job and determine where they stack relative to what you already know. If there are noticeable gaps, then find a way to fill them. Also, the perfect person (on paper) is not always the best person for the job. I should know.

Every step requires a first step. Make yours count.