Ring In The New, Eat An Elephant

Did year about Tiger Woods' New Year's Resolution?

For 2010 he's planning to put his affairs in order. Just what the order will be based on, he didn't say.

(Rim shot, please)

How about former vice president Dick Cheney? He vows than in the year ahead he's going to be a straight shooter.

(And another . . . )

And what of investment guru Bernie Madoff? He moving to England where he says he plans to lose a few . . . pounds.

It's that time of year. In with the new, out with the old. Turn over a new leaf. Make a new beginning. Get a clean start, etc. etc. We can't help but be a little reflective and that's a good thing . . .

. . . Except that, upon reflection, what most of us see is that we made a real mess of things — again — last year. How did that happen? What about our well-intended resolutions from a year ago? Or, the year before that. Or . . . well, you know the feeling. It's depressing. Will we ever get it right? Will we ever improve? In this case, past performance probably does indicate future results. It seems likely that we will not.

But this is a gloomy, cup-half-empty kind of view. Our year-end reflections, which leads to our year-beginning resolutions, always focus on our failures, on what we didn't get right. Now there may be a few people who just screwed up everything they touched last year (sort of a reverse, Midas effect), but for most of us, any year, any month or any day is a real mixed bag. We have some good times and some bad. We win some and lose some. We are up and down. Hopefully, over some period of time, we are able to advance, even if only by the two-steps forward, one-step back method of propulsion. But even if we feel like we're just treadmilling it, surely we should see more when we look back than just what wrong.

Okay, so pull out that list of resolutions you made and tear it up. Let's start the process over. Look back at last yea — look back at the last five or 10 or 50 if you want — and consider all the things that went right. Instead of a list of resolutions, how about a list of so-lutions. What problems did you fix in '09 (or before?) In what ways did you improve? After you finish that, consider how those successes came about. Is there anything instructive there? Can any of last year's accomplishments serve as a stepping stone for good work in the weeks, months and year ahead?

For most of us, considering the future in light of the past is inevitable. But by bringing a little balance to the process we uncover a few truths that will steel our resolve . . . and our resolves (the root word in resolutions!) Here's what you might find:

• Last year wasn't so bad after all.
• Life is full of ups and downs (just a reminder!)
• Progress is often achieved in small increments (the old how-to-eat-an-elephant strategy). Because of that ...
• Patience and perseverance are crucial.

Such reflection may lead to a new to-do list (call them resolutions if you like), one that offers a more realistic and effective action plan for the year ahead. No, it won't be as impressive as broad stroke resolutions that promise a complete overhaul into the new me (or you). But small-step plan does offer a better chance of success and a real opportunity for a happier new year.

We're so sure of that, we're even recommending it to our celebrity friends.

For instance, instead of overhauling his entire game, we think Tiger ought to just work on his . . . driving.

 

Tucker Mitchell