Forget New Year’s Resolutions

This year I decided to not make any New Year’s resolutions. In the past, I’d wake up on January 1^st, regretting the indulgences of the festive season. I’d earnestly pledge to lose the extra weight plus a few pounds, get more exercise, and never spend that much money on Amazon Prime again.

It should be easier these days to stay on track. There are dozens of different weight loss plans from which to choose and all plans come with live or internet-based options. Free apps make it easy to track calories and pretty much any other information that you are willing to share on an app with unknown security protocols.

It should also be easier to exercise.  Gone are the days of the lowly treadmill. Home exercise equipment is now monstrously huge with expensive bells and whistles. For example, Peloton advertises a new exercise machine with internet capabilities that allow you to be harangued by a virtual coach or to participate in group exercise classes.  You never need to pay a gym membership again.

All these modern conveniences mean that you need never fear the humiliation of being the dud in the weight loss class or the klutz in the exercise class.  Of course, if you can do everything at home, why count calories or exercise?  You could find a job that lets you work from home and have all the necessities from chocolate to food to books and clothing delivered to your doorstep. It would no longer matter if you looked like a fat, happy Buddha because no one would ever see you.

Consider also that we exercise so that we are healthier and we’ll live longer.  But few of us save enough money to live comfortably in our retirement.  Even without a catastrophic illness or disease, everyone fears outliving their resources.  So there could be a downside to a long, healthy life if it means ultimately living in penury.

All these jumbled thoughts ran through my head when I awoke on January 1^st. I realized that my annual resolutions usually fell by the wayside in February, the dreariest month of the year with little sunlight and no hint of spring.  So this year I earnestly pledged to not make any New Year’s resolutions.

My company, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor, helps employers (with up to 50 employees) to create human resources policies and employee benefit programs that are appropriate to the employer’s size and budget. The goal is to help small companies grow by creating the necessary back office administrative structure while avoiding the dead weight of a bureaucracy. To read my musings on the wacky world of human resources, see the HR Compliance Jungle (www.hrcompliancejungle.com) which alternates on Wednesday mornings with my new history blog, History By Norma, (available at http://www.normashirk.com). To read my musings on a variety of topics, see my posts on Her Savvy (www.hersavvy.com).

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