Penny Thoughts: Christmas as the Template for the New Year

As the glow and warmth of Christmas begins to sink in during these days after the “big day”, we begin to focus our attentions on the New Year – you know, the time when we theoretically desire to “turn a new leaf” and order our lives in a more constructive and benevolent fashion.

The build up to Christmas often seems to be more exciting than the event itself, and the feelings of “peace on earth” and “good will to all” often remain in the melodies and lyrics of those sweet Christmas carols we all sang with great conviction and sincere feeling. Perhaps it might serve us better if we enlist those good feelings and intentions in some of the New Year resolutions rather than packing them off with the wrapping paper and the now empty boxes which contained the gifts.

The challenge of the resolutions usually begins around the middle of January after we have been tested by the routines of our daily lives – after we have been seduced by our high intended goals in a rather pragmatic style. The strength of those resolutions becomes confronted by the realities of their commitment and far too often they become casualties of life circumstances.

But how does this happen? We were so very committed to the principles of those resolutions – to the fundamental purposes they implied! Yet, instead of being the new rubric for a reordered life path, they seem to become a challenge not unlike waking every morning at 4:30 to run five miles. So, we wonder what happened – and far too often these highly envisioned principles for improving one’s life are quietly set aside or are dissolved by the tides of our lives even before we conjured them.

From the cheer and good will inherent with Christmas ambiance to the silent resignation of a weakness in dedication, something happens to the words uttered in using the turn of the calendar to effect personal improvement. What happens appears to be both simple and complex.

It is as simple as silently passing the health salad at the open food bar and moving back to your favorite ravioli pasta with the thick meat sauce. It is as complex as trying to rationalize that move within the context of your appetites.

Still, there are approaches to achieving your resolutions within the steadfastness we engaged during Christmas. With this notion, I refer to Christ’s admonition to, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” From it I conclude that there must be a healthy love of one’s self, not in a narcissistic sense, but in the sense that one is “comfortable in one’s own skin” and is not threatened by one’s neighbor.

Using this as a metric for positively winning the “resolution battle”, the realmenrealstyle.com website presented a rational approach called a “S.M.A.R.T.” program. To begin with one must set SMART goals. Each of the letters in this acronym suggests a sound application to achieve the goals one can set as New Year resolutions. Those letters stand for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

An analysis of each of these metrics reveals that specific means that a goal must establish clear and definable points. Being specific lays out a road map and process for what the goal seeks to achieve.

The goal must also be measurable. Simply put, there must be concrete benchmarks in the application of the goal. If losing 10 pounds so that a more presentable physique can gain attention at a class reunion, then there is more clarity to the goal.

While having a goal which is specific and measurable sets an outline, there needs to be an emotional attachment to it. Thus, a goal must be attainable, realistic, and within the realm of reason. If one has two months to lose that 10 pounds for the class reunion, there is a given realism to it. If, on the other hand, the goal is a 50 pound loss in the same amount of time there is a built in failure since losing that much weight in that limited time span is more than challenging – it is unrealistic. In this sense, it will present discouragement and will ultimately fail. This may be one of the most important of the metrics because if a goal is not attainable, then it is merely a wish.

With the other metrics, a goal must be relevant. It must meld with one’s life-style. If the goal of losing 10 pounds is a function of one’s daily work-outs, and one is already, say, running, realistically dieting, and weight-lifting, then that goal is relevant to one’s life-style and can easily dovetail with the rest of one’s life.

Finally, a goal must be time-bound. This metric is an extension of the specific metric in that it clearly defines the beginning and the conclusion of the goal’s attainability within an established time limit. This metric may be a bit more flexible since it may be extended but at the very least it delineates a launch date and a conclusion date.

I truly like and admire the SMART system of setting and attaining goals for the New Year. Nevertheless, consistent with the beginning of this analysis, I believe that we should launch resolutions for the New Year with the same spiritual feelings we enjoy during Yuletide.

As such, I have devised an additional platform which offers the acronym PRAISE. I suppose it is Narcissistic enough to even present this so please forgive the ego. For brevity’s sake, PRAISE outlines parameters for a goal setting program consistent with my original premise of using Christmas as a platform to set New Year resolutions.

PRAISE continues the benevolent spirits which Christmas created and stands for the following: goals must be Positive, Rejuvenating, Appropriate, Intelligent, Sincere, and Enthusiastic.

It seems that each of these metrics is self-explanatory, so I will not present any more meandering palaver and merely wish each and every one of you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of The West Alabama Watchman.