By Katherine Gould
This column appeared in the Dec. 31, 2004 edition of the Crescenta Valley Sun.
As the year comes to a close, it is time once again for me to lay out my recipe for successful New Year’s resolutions.
Resolutions must be achievable, specific and fun. They must also improve your life, and not be something you were doing anyway.
With these guidelines in mind, I will, as I did last year, not resolve to make this newspaper the best one serving the Crescenta Valley area. We are already doing the best work we can, and I think we’re beating the pants off our competition. We’re going to continue to cover this community to the best of our abilities, and to be the voice you count on for fair and accurate reporting of stories relating to La Crescenta, Montrose and northeast Glendale. That’s not a resolution; that’s our job.
My most successful resolutions focus on changing behavior to create a change in attitude. My resolution last year was to dance more—not only because I love to dance, but also because dancing forces me to concentrate on the moment. You cannot swing dance or tango if you are thinking of what you’re supposed to do at work tomorrow or about the person across the room. You have to concentrate on your partner, on what you are doing at this very moment. And when you do, the dancing gets to be a lot more fun. I found that in life, concentrating on the task at hand helped me to enjoy those tasks more. Concentrating on the people with me helped me to listen more closely, hear better and communicate better. All good things.
This year, I return to my favorite resolution, one I make every other year: I will drink more champagne because champagne is a drink of celebration. This year, I will find excuses to celebrate the little happinesses of life. I will drink champagne simply because it is Tuesday. I will drink champagne for my birthday and everyone else’s. I will drink champagne because I am alive and have wonderful family and friends, and because life has been good to me. This year, I will dwell more on the good things in life and less on the bad.
I write this as the death toll from the tsunami in the Indian Ocean continues to rise exponentially. That is certainly enough to make anyone—particularly anyone living within the shake zone of the San Andreas Fault—worried and depressed. But I will concentrate on the fact that I have an earthquake kit that is stocked up. I have an emergency plan. I have enough water to survive for several days. And I have no control over when Nature will decide to unleash The Big One upon us. I will drink champagne to show my gratefulness that we are not the ones digging out from under the rubble. (I will also send a check to a relief organization, because it is all I can do for those who are not so fortunate.)
And so I encourage you to make your own resolution that will make 2005 fun. Don’t resolve to lose 5 or 10 pounds; instead resolve to learn to ice skate or to take a walk every day. Don’t resolve to be more conscientious at work; resolve to dwell more on your accomplishments than your boredom.
And next year, tell me how you did.
Until then, Happy New Year and best wishes for 2005.