OK, so you've recovered from whatever shape you were in on New Year's Day. It's the first week of 2017 and that means the chance to make yourself a better person. They're called "resolutions," remember them?
But we've heard all the tired tropes. I'm going to lose weight. I'm going to get in shape. I'm going to quit smoking. I'm going eat better. I'm going to put my cellphone down for at least 10 seconds a day. I'm going to stop getting down with my bad self in the aisle of Walmart whenever I hear "Stayin' Alive."
We wanted to hear resolutions that stepped outside the confines of the tried and true, ones that are important - or make sense - only to the person who made the vow. Here are a few:
"To learn how to whistle. My brother has shown me a few times. We have the same mouth, so I think I could just copy him."
- Patti Goodson
"To write in cursive more often. It's so much prettier than just jotting things down real fast, plus it makes me focus more on each word I'm writing instead of just blabbering on paper. Also, it's like a foreign language to the young'uns these days."
- Sara Klyce
"To learn to play chess. It's always been one of those things that I feel I should know how to do and do well, but it's also felt out of my league in a way."
- Cate Brubaker
"I want to take my kids out of the country."
- Tabatha Armour
"To study the Hermetic teachings until fully understood."
- Lanse McLain
"To buy ALL my produce from local farms like Crabtree or White Ivy. If it's not available local, then I won't eat it."
- Jessie Gantt
"For my business to do twice as many charitable events as last year. To do more than we even thought we could."
- Jennifer Wilkerson
"To bring back the love of the old auction, to be the best auctioneer I can be, to get the next generation excited about auctions. The smell of a summer auction with burgers grilling, kids playing and bids a'flying. That's what I remember as a kid and we need some of America's pastimes to come back in style. Why buy new?"
- Misty Dawn Speakman
"I am resolved to be more mindful about my savings, spending and long-term financial planning. More than just putting away more cash for a 'rainy day,' I want to really investigate the best ways to maximize employer matching policies, take advantage of tax benefits and really invest my cash in a way that aligns with my future goals."
- An Thuy Nguyen
"I want to get better about scheduling my day my life is so crazy as a single mom, working full time and going to grad school!!! So, I'm listening to an audiobook on habits, "The Power of Habit," but it talks about keystone habits and looking for the root cause of what's causing the unwanted behavior. For me, that keystone habit is phone use at home. So I'm going to use it less and make more lists of what I want to achieve each night to make the day more successful."
- Mary Carrell
Contact Shawn Ryan at sryan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327.