Fake it 'til its real

I have a t-shirt that says Lord, help me be the person my dog thinks I am. I was never much of a dog person before Sadie. But how can you not love this? Corgi's are not a hyper breed, unless cattle are involved; but, she's usually more energetic than this picture depicts. Here she is exhausted from greeting guests all day.

We follow the same routine every time I come home: She greets me at the door, waits for me to unload all my stuff, arches her back as I give her a quick massage, responds with a big stretch before jumping up on her hind legs to receive her kiss, then searches frantically for something, anything, for me to throw and her to retrieve. This happens every time I come in the house, whether it has been 5 hours or 5 minutes. We have another, totally predictable routine that we perform at the beginning of the day. She loves me. She’s thrilled to see me. To her I am the most wonderful person ever.

The result of those high expectations is that she has trained me to make new habits that did not exist in my life two years ago. I go through the coming home routine every time I re-enter the house and I do it without thinking about it. Nor do I give a thought about the additional time it takes to perform the new routine. This is simply part of daily life. This is the approach I'm going to take in adopting the goals of the '06 edition.

All the changes I want to incorporate in my daily life will not come naturally to me. I'll have to consciously work to overcome the temptation to fall back into my daily routines and eating habits. My thought is to fake it until it become real. I'll just keep doing it over and over again until one day, these new habits replace the old ones. Maybe I should get a t-shirt that says, "Lord, help me be the person I think I am."

The 06 Edition

So here we are. A tick of a clock signals a new opportunity to reconfigure ourselves. One minute we’re our old selves with all the parts that dissatisfy us, and tick, we’re a new person. Although this can happen at any time, we choose the New Year to be the start or our reconfiguration. The first minute of the first day of a brand new year is a chance to start being the new me.

I have no illusions about resolutions. I’m actually a great resolution maker, starting every January with eating, weight, and fitness goals that I promise myself to accomplish in the coming year. Of course, I don’t really believe that waving the magic wand of the New Year will fundamentally change my entrenched habits and preferences. The result is usually a failure to accomplish my goals by year end. My commitment level has varied over the years but I’ve seldom lasted being the New Me much beyond the end of February.

This year will be no different as far as setting ambitious personal goals. But, I will try to be more accountable by recording them somewhat publicly and by reporting back on them. My goals fall into three categories: Health/Fitness, Social, and Economic.

Health/Fitness goals are part of every New Year resolution list every year. This year I want to:

• lose 30 pounds through exercise and healthy eating


• do 10 full pushups


• do 10 unassisted pull-ups


• run a marathon

Social goals are new this year. As an introvert I tend to get too wrapped up in what I’m thinking and I tend to be insensitive in dealing with others. This year I want to

• compliment at least one co-worker every day


• meet at least one new person per week


• become a better listener

Economic goals are also new this year. I’ve already talked about how despite not liking to shop, I’ve found that I tend to accumulate a surprising amount of stuff. Plus, we are getting to the age where we can seriously start thinking about the possibility that we can retire. This year I want to:

• not buy anything for me (with qualifications)


• review our financial status together at least monthly so that we stay on track

That lays out the big pictures. I’ll take each item over the next few weeks and lay out measurable steps so I can track how I’m progressing.