With New Years’ having come and gone, I want to take some time to write about New Years’ resolutions. According to Google.com, a resolution is “a firm decision to do or not do something” or “the action to solve a problem, dispute or contentious matter. (google.com, 1/8/2017). And a goal is “the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result” (google.com, 1/8/2017). So the resolution is the decision to change and the goal is the end result of completing your resolution. I have made resolutions in the past many of which I have accomplished. The key to accomplishing these resolutions was to have a plan to achieve the goal.
Resolutions can apply to many aspects of our lives; personal resolutions can include our physical, mental or spiritual health. They can be to our desires or strengths or our weaknesses. Other resolutions can be based around groups. Maybe a group we are involved with has a resolution to earn a particular amount of money for a conservation project the group wants to support. They can even revolve around special interests we have as individuals like fly tying of fishing. I personally have set resolutions in a few different aspects of my life. Here is a list of five things that I want to accomplish before the end of the year.
The first resolution is that I want to stop drinking carbonated drinks. The second resolution I have set for myself is that I want to lose 30 pounds. The third resolution I have is to take my kids fishing more often this year than last year. For the fourth resolution of 2017, I hope to post at least fifty posts/articles by New Years’ Eve of this year, and the last resolution I have is to attempt the bronze fly tying award within the International Federation of Fly Fishers. Again, those are:
1. Stop drinking carbonation
2. Lose 30 pounds
3. Take kids fishing more this year than last year
4. Post a minimum of 50 times this year
5. Earn the Bronze IFFF Fly tying award
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| Princess Turkey (my daughter) with a decent Rainbow Trout |
I think that not drinking any carbonation is pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll explain my plan anyway. Last year I drank too much carbonation, 99% of it was Mountain Dew and at the end of 2016 I decide that it was time to stop drinking it. Not drinking carbonation will help my overall health, help me get back in shape, help me have the ability to run five miles so that it feels like five miles rather than twenty. So, no more carbonation for Lance, Check. I have done well with this resolution for the first week of 2017. I have recently heard, although; I can’t remember where, that a habit is created at 66 days, not the 21 I first heard. I guess we’ll see how I am doing in about nine more weeks.
For about the last nine years I have been a bit overweight, I want to lose thirty pounds, which will put me right where I need to be, and I plan on doing this by exercising more and eating healthier. As soon as it warms up a bit I am going to run daily and incorporate more fruits and veggies and less Swedish Fish and cookies into my diet. I do believe that not drinking carbonation anymore will help me lose weight as well.
I was only able to take my kids out fishing a few times last spring to summer last year. I have decided that I want to take my kids fishing at least 10 times this year. Whether that is taking them 120 miles out for trout or taking them to the pond by Grandma’s house we are going to get out more often this year. I will get a calendar printed and start marking dates that I will be taking them out along with where.
You know I have had this blog since 2013 and every year I have good intentions of posting 2-3 times a week, but I usually get overwhelmed and end up not posting very often. So this year, I am going to do this a bit differently. Rather than saying that I am going to post 2-3 times a week I am going make this a bit more manageable for me and I am going to post a minimum of 52 times this year. My posts probably won’t be once a week. Some weeks will have two posts and others may have three and more than likely I will miss a few weeks here and there. The point is I want to post an average of once a week.The plan to complete the final resolution on this list isn’t necessarily because I think that there should be standards in fly tying it is more to see how the International Federation of Fly Fishers Fly tying Award works and what kind of learning experience it is. I strongly feel there are no boundaries in fly tying and there is not one way to tie a specific pattern. The only limitation someone tying flies is him or herself and what they put their mind to tie or not tie. I just want to see how tough this award is to get and whether earning this award is worth the time to achieve it.
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| Fishbait himself holds a a nice Rainbow. |
I have shared a few of my 2017 resolutions. What is a Resolution that you have for this year? And how do plan to tackle it?
UPDATE 3/8/2017
I have gone sixty-six days without any carbonation. My goal was to kick it completely. Supposedly it takes 66 days to kick an old habit or form a new one. YAHOO!! for me. Kicking carbonation hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be. The hardest part was at the beginning of the year when I would sit down for lunch where I work and had to remember that I couldn't order my usual drink. Still working through my other resolutions. I have some fishing trips planned for spring which should be fun. And with the weather warming up I will not have an excuse to not run to loss that thirty pounds; although, it is now about twenty. I think that cutting of the carbonation helped with this. I haven't started the IFFF Bronze Fly Tying award yet but will be soon.
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