The Resolution Revolution
It’s the New Year, the time when all of us are supposed to take a hard, honest look at ourselves,
face our faults, and make some resolutions for self improvement. I’ve made some resolutions in the
past, sure. I planned to exercise. Eat healthy. Scrub that unidentifiable
goo from the refrigerator’s vegetable drawer.
For 2010, however, I’m starting a revolution
against resolutions. It’s not that I’m lazy. One glance at my extensive
daily “to do” list will verify I’m no slouch. It’s not that I’m afraid of
failure. Heck, I wouldn’t be trying to break into the brutal world of publishing if I were a wimp.
And it’s certainly not because I’m perfect. In fact, here is a list of my top three
flaws:
1)
impatient
2)
horrible housekeeper/cook
3)
can’t stick to a budget
The reason why I’m making no resolutions this year is because of Mother Theresa. It’s
okay for me to blame her. She can’t complain. She died in 1997.
I normally schedule my cut and color appointments so that I’m my hairdresser’s
first appointment of the day. I like to hit the ground running in the morning and don’t like to wait
while the finishing touches are put on someone else’s coiffure (there’s that impatience I warned you about).
During the recent busy holiday season, however, I had to schedule a mid-day appointment with my fully booked stylist.
While being forced to wait an entire three minutes and thirty-seven seconds for the chair to be vacated, I impatiently
grabbed the nearest magazine, flung the cover aside, and flipped through the pages at warp speed. Inside,
I found an article about the upside of our downside, how our worst flaws can also be our best strengths.
Mother Theresa was set forth as an example. The diminutive nun spent years making
lives better for the poor, orphaned, and dying in the slums of Calcutta, India. She founded “Missionaries
of Charity,” an organization that fed the hungry, cared for the sick, and gave those with terminal illness a calm, restful
place to pass on. The group had expanded to 123 countries by the time of her death. She
won the Nobel Peace Prize. It’s amazing what a woman can accomplish when she’s not wearing
heels.
The article noted that, despite her legacy as one of the
most caring and compassionate human beings ever to grace this screwed-up planet of ours, Mother T wasn’t exactly the
sweet little old lady we picture her to be. In fact, those who worked with her described her as stubborn,
hard-headed, and relentless. Not generally admirable traits. But the exact traits she
needed to accomplish her worthy goals.
In that vein, I’ve taken a hard, honest look at myself. Sure, my impatience
has its downside, but it also leads me to make efficient use of my time. I’m a paragon of productivity.
Besides my duties as a mother and wife, I serve on the boards of four non-profits, work part-time as a tax advisor,
and write as much as possible. Could I do that if I weren’t in a perpetual rush? Probably
not. My substandard housekeeping allows me to provide a comfy, happy home for six cats, two dogs, and two
teenagers without worries over pet hair or spilled soda. It’s no coincidence kids enjoy hanging out
here. My lousy cooking skills have enabled my family to stay within the range of healthy weight.
And because I pay little attention to our finances, we’ve not only sponsored children in three countries, but
also provided for a homeless wallaby, even though there was no line item for them in our budget.
Sometimes change is good.
Sometimes it’s absolutely unnecessary.
