In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Resolutions

Jill

I’m with Philip Galanes: New Years resolutions should have nothing to do with losing weight. Instead, focus on a small behavioral change:

I may not be the best adviser on this one, Stephanie. I have (unsuccessfully) resolved to give up bread for the last 15 years.

So let’s steer clear of food and exercise resolutions, which probably constitute 98 percent of the busted ones.

Join me in a single resolution for 2012: Every day, we will compliment someone who crosses our paths.

“Loved the way you helped your brother just then.” Or: “Nice toupee!” It will be much easier to maintain than those abstemious ones and will create loads of good will.

And walking past Sullivan Street Bakery will prove not nearly so perilous.

This year, my resolution is to take more risks in life and in love. What’s yours?

38 thoughts on Resolutions

  2. “Nice toupee!”

    I would not go with “nice toupee” as a compliment I’d pay to someone.

    Me, I’m giving up sacrifice. It works swimmingly every year.

    (As you can see, “dropping the snark” is not on my resolution list.)

  3. I don’t know; I kind of like my exercise-related resolutions. I think partly because I keep them measurable and specific and because I actually find them pleasurable to work through.

    So Philip Galanes notwithstanding, my resolution is still to up my running to 10k distances by the end of this year.

    That said, my resolution still has absolutely nothing to do with weight. 😉

  4. “Put down that sandwich” is a small behavioural change, right?

    *ducks*

    Back to the realm of the non-snarky, the only thing close to a resolution I made is to “get shit done”, a roundabout way of wishing to procrastinate less often. The urge to insert a really tired joke about procrastination here is reeaaaaaaally strong…

  5. To be more social. I’m planning to make sure 2012 will be filled with dinner parties, lunches and coffees, not to mention the occasional tea party.

  6. My 2012 goal is to do 1 pull up. Also to bring lunch to work instead of buying it at our cafe. Also to actually complete a crafting project, for once!

  9. READ MORE BOOKS. This is my number one resolution. I ended up reading about 10 all of last year and felt very shabby about it.

  10. Be more sociable and less of a hermit (while, at the same time, not condemning myself when I need to be alone); try to restore some lapsed friendships.

  11. I’ve decided not to do ‘resolutions’. I actually wrote about it here , but overall it’s simply that I’ve always felt that ‘resolution’ as a concept sets me up for failure.

    So for example, I’m aspiring to be healthier. That way I can look at my actions and ask if it matches my aspirations. If they match then I’m good. If not then I need to be more mindful. It makes it a process, rather than a one-time thing.

  13. Paint more. I got lazy this year and hardly created anything.

    De-clutter my house in preparation for hopefully owning my own.

    Have more patience with my kids.

    Take more risks with my heart… like metaphorically. I don’t mean I’m going to start smoking and eating more greasy foods. Although that sounds fun.

    Spend more time with my kids.

    Also learning to be okay being on my own. I’ve been ‘okay’ with it, as in that sad ‘It’s okay that I’m single, I’m sure there’s someone out there for me’ but I’d like to really be OKAY with it.

    Try more new things.

    Spend less unproductive time on the computer.

    Learn to play the ukulele (I got one for Christmas!)

    Get up the guts to play WITH other musicians, instead of just in front of them.

    Try song-writing again, instead of just singing songs I wish I’d wrote.

    Eat my veggies.

    Brush twice a day. For two whole minutes (awesome suggestion Sheezlebub!)

    Call my grandmothers more. And my nephews.

    Be less self-deprecating. I’m more awesome than I like to tell people.

  16. Oh sorry.. I mistakenly attributed the tooth-brushing thing to Sheezlebub and it was really FashionablyEvil. Sorry about that.

    The common theme of evil in the names threw me off.

  17. This year, I am doing pushups, and lots of them. It’s a fitness related goal, but it’s also a middle finger to the idea that women don’t, can’t, or shouldn’t have upper body strength.

    Also, I resolve to take a multivitamin every day. I guess you could put that in the same bucket as the very excellent flossing resolutions?

  18. Not weight-loss related, but health-related: eating breakfast at least three times a week (sadly, in a battle of extra 15 minutes of sleep in the morning vs. cooking and eating oatmeal, sleep always wins).

    Listen to all the new music I download on my walk to work. I developed a tendency to buy whole albums but listen to just a few songs off them (or put ipod on shuffle). I resolve to listen to every album I get all the way through at least once!

    Read only one book at a time and read more non-fiction.

    And a resolution that every knitter has set, and failed to keep, at least once: don’t get distracted by the new, shiny, pretty yarn. Finish the UFOs first!

  19. My resolution is to take more big risks and less small ones. I’ll stop eating food I’m allergic to but I’m going to apply for jobs across country.

    And I’m going to stop wearing my hair up.

  20. @Karak,

    Ooo..I gave the updo up about two years ago…takes an enormous amount of patience but it was totally worth it.

  21. I usually am not the type to make resolutions, New Year’s or otherwise. The only major one I’ve ever stuck to was the decision to join a gym and go regularly. But that one was made strictly from a health standpoint. For one, the medications I take daily work better if I’m active.

    Regular exercise probably saved my life when I had a hypertensive crisis and my pulse rate went through the roof. My heart had been strengthened enough to not need to pump as hard or as fast. Aside from that, I think our lives are full of modest, but consistent behavioral changes.

  22. Sorry, I have to make an exercise/food resolution. Let’s not say it’s about weight loss. Let’s say it’s for my health and well-being, which it really is.

    But my real resolution is to be more helpful to others whenever I can. Over the last few years I have had to deal with an issue that meant I had to focus on myself. Now that the issue behind me, it’s time to me to look outward again.

    1. Oh I support exercise and food resolutions. Just not resolutions like “no bread” (unless there’s some health reason, like you are allergic to wheat). I am just against “exercise until I lose 10 pounds” or whatever. But you can resolve whateva you want, I am not the police.

  23. I like the two minute brushing one–I think I’ll steal it also.

    And, while not weight loss related, I will do 10 push-ups in a row, correctly, by the end of the year. I can’t even do one right now. I also want to drag my ass out of bed more often to work out. I don’t do much–just yoga and treadmill (and I’ll be adding the push-ups)–but when it comes to that extra hour of sleep in the mornings, I really don’t want to give it up no matter how much I know I should. I figure if I can make it during the week, then I can sleep in on the weekends and enjoy Sunday crepes with my kids without too much guilt.

    Also, I will finish my classes, write my dissertation proposal, and get started on actually doing my dissertation research. I won’t be finished this year, but the goal is to be Dr. KS, PhD by the end of 2013 at the very latest and I really need to kick it in gear this year if I’m going to make that happen.

  24. Also, if at all possible, I want to find the time to cook at home more often. Right now I work a lot, and I also go to school full time, so the kids, husband, and I are on quick meals more than I’d like. I really love cooking and I need to make time to do it this year.

  25. I want to stop sobbing about finances. Life us too short.

    Stop listening to every single person who calls me a bad mother.

    Take a long bath at least once a week. Force the husband to play with baby precisely at that time.

    Would finally like to get that tattoo. 😉

  26. My resolution is to stop saying ‘I’m sorry’ for stuff I have no reason to be sorry for, like I’m sorry I am showing symptoms of my illness. Eff that shit!

  27. My resolution is to stop saying ‘I’m sorry’ for stuff I have no reason to be sorry for, like I’m sorry I am showing symptoms of my illness. Eff that shit!

    After many years of broken resolutions, I wasn’t planning to make one this year. But I love this so much I’m stealing it. And, dammit, I’m gonna keep this one. 🙂

  28. Not weight-loss related, but health-related: eating breakfast at least three times a week (sadly, in a battle of extra 15 minutes of sleep in the morning vs. cooking and eating oatmeal, sleep always wins).

    Get yourself a slow cooker and make it the night before. Oatmeal ready when you wake up. Voila!

  29. Get yourself a slow cooker and make it the night before. Oatmeal ready when you wake up. Voila!

    This is how oatmeal is prepared in our household. Also, in the vain attempt to keep one of my resolutions I’ve started a tumblr of puppy pics. Waahahahaaa…my effort to destroy the internet with irrelevancy continues unabated!!!

  31. My fitness-related goals are all about measuring by the things that make me feel better (although I don’t count for the weight-loss thing anyway because I’m trying to gain muscle mass). Increasing the amount of time I can run before getting out of breath; reasonable weightlifting progress; developing body-based skills (rock climbing, belly dance); going to cardio classes because I can’t manage the motivation to keep moving on my own even though I know they’ll make me feel better almost immediately after the exercise.

    Also, building a hammered dulcimer.

  33. Angel H, I wish you all the best this year 🙂

    My resolutions:
    Sign up for another bellydance course and practice yoga more often
    Stop worrying so much about life and start living it
    Start a non-profit
    Get a tattoo
    Do more social things/go on dates/leave the house on a Friday night

  35. Flossing is a great New Year’s resolution. It’s three days late but I’m co-opting that one.

  36. My resolution is to de-lurk on all the blogs I read and start interacting with all the awesome commenters. Hello!

    Also, I need to write more. My personal writing has been sorely neglected in the past 12 months.

  37. My New Years resolution is to stop sweating the small stuff. I worry to much about things that really are not worthy fussing over.

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