Resolutions haven’t worked for me in recent years, and I’m not sure they were ever very effective at helping me improve myself during the course of a new year. This year, I have decided to dispense with resolve and explore opportunities instead.
I’m hoping for some opportunities to lose weight. I still run, but I am apparently spending more time eating than I am running. It hasn’t helped that I’ve recently developed strange cravings for Italian food, with a particular tilt toward pizza. I think it takes about three miles of running to work off one slice of pizza. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that heavier people generally run slower than lighter people, so I now find myself being passed by other early-morning runners. The most imminent opportunity I’m going to try is a run out of the Gateway Canyon on Christmas Day. This six-mile ordeal represents my personal bottom line for fitness, validating that I am not a complete slug if I can make the circuit without stopping.
Reading higher-quality material is always an opportunity that I anticipate but somehow usually avoid. I’m currently reading a book about a young woman seeking revenge after her father commits suicide as the result of falling for a Nigerian e-mail scam. It’s an interesting novel so far; and, if I really stretch, I can rationalize that I’m learning something about how technology is being used by enterprising folks in the developing world to cheat their more affluent brothers and sisters in other countries. I can even connect this to my work because I think I have received as many e-mails at work from African princes as I have from any other source over the past decade. Just to reassure our outstanding IT employees, I should note that it has been quite awhile since I’ve had an opportunity to earn millions by helping a distressed person in Africa.
Nearly every year, I remind myself that I need to do more hiking and exploring in Oregon. I did a couple of nice hikes in 2013, but I think they totaled a little over four days out of 365 possibilities. We live amidst some of the most incredible scenery in the world, and yet almost all of my time is spent indoors or inside a car. Taking better advantage of this opportunity would have the added benefit of working off some of that pizza I’ve come to crave.
My greatest opportunity for the New Year will be the chance to be nicer and more concerned about others. I will get this chance every day, and I plan to at least take a good shot at it. Visitors to my office will notice that I removed the crushed beaver from my screensaver, and I gave away the statue of the Duck strangling a beaver some time ago. I realize that to realize great opportunities great sacrifices are required.
I’m truly looking forward to 2014 and extend best wishes to all for a peaceful and prosperous New Year filled with opportunities.