Dave Worthen

5 years ago · 7 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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New Year’s Resolutions: A New Take on an Old Tradition

New Year’s Resolutions: A New Take on an Old Tradition

“| am starting my
exercise program
in the New Year."

When you make a resolution it’s a noun.

It’s a thing.

A resolution is simply a decision.

It is a static thing.

Your New Year’s Resolution could be “To lose 10 lbs.”

That resolution is static, meaning it’s like saying you are “going to the movies this weekend.”

Nothing has changed in the physical universe.

But the root of the word resolution comes from Latin, resolvere = re + solve = to loosen, undo, dissolve, or release.

This is a whole different ball game when you get down to its roots.

It’s like when your shoelaces are too tight.

You can make a resolution to untie them.

That’s a static. It’s simply a decision. Nothing has changed.

Or, you can simply resolve or “loosen them up” and gain the freedom you wished for.

See?

Resolutions contain in their very own DNA the idea that you must loosen, dissolve, or release the thing that is static.

Yet most people make a resolution and then in the New Year, feel anxious because if they have not started their exercise program or what have you, this static resolution is hanging over their head like those idea clouds above the head of a cartoon.

The resolution being a noun, is a thing, almost like a Post-it Note inside your mind.

And you know, this is really unworkable.

So, people have loses.

I mean, how many resolutions did you make last year that are still hanging out as a cartoon cloud in your universe?

And the real problem with New Year’s Resolutions is not that you don’t keep them or make an effort to achieve them.

It’s that when people make them and because they are static, they run into them in the New Year like running into a load of undone laundry.

See, undone laundry is a static thing.

It will stay undone forever.

Until you change the cartoon cloud hanging over your head.

Those ten pounds you want to lose?

Yes, those are static as well. They are first cousins to your undone laundry.

If you “make a resolution” to do your laundry or lose ten pounds or get on an exercise program, you are just stating a future condition you wish to change.

Ever said, “I’m going to get the laundry done today even if it kills me,” and yet the laundry continues in it’s glorious static state of being undone?

Or, you set your alarm clock in the New Year to get up and exercise because this is your resolution, but you hit the snooze button and decide to start tomorrow?

Statics and Kinetics:

Okay...I know. This sounds a class you took in High School or College.

But stay with me here.

You’ll learn something about why you have so many losses with your resolutions.

Let’s just keep this simple. A static by definition is something that doesn’t move. It has no motion in it.

It comes from Greek statikos, “causing to stand.”

See, in essence it just stands there.

Like the idea or resolution, “I want to lose ten pounds.”

Like one of those cartoon clouds standing over your head.

New Year
Chapter One

It can stay there forever like a “House for Sale” sign.

You can leave it up or take it down whenever you like.

Now the thing with statics (ideas, resolutions, decisions) is that they actually do stay there as long as you have the idea to achieve that goal.

It’s like when people hear I’m a writer and I’ve published several books, many will say, “I’ve always wanted to write a book too.”

Well, there’s your House for Sale sign.

“I’ve always wanted to write a book too” is a cartoon cloud above their head that’s been there for how long?

Well, it could be since seventh grade, who knows?

The point is this is a static.

It’s statikos, it stands there, see?

And statics have this crazy-ass thing about them.

I’ll explain what I mean:

How many times in your life have you made the resolution to lose weight or write a book or take up dancing?

Well, I can tell you that if you didn’t achieve your goal it’s because each new decision itself is another static.

Now envision each decision or resolution like a stack of pancakes with you at the bottom.

When you make your resolution that, “This year is going to be different,” you will run into the feeling of overwhelm which are the hundreds of other prior static resolution pancakes that make you feel it is hard to do.

See?

That laundry?

Every single piece of undone laundry is just statikos as hell.

And dancing?

Great idea!

But getting to the dance class can be like trying to swim one lap in a pool filled with molasses.

You just never seem get there.

What the Hell is This?

You are staring down the very property of what lies behind an idea or resolution since you first took your crayons as a kid and drew all over your parents living room wall.

Nothing stopped you with those crayons.

Because at that age you had zero static pancake clouds sitting on your baby-ass head.

You just fucking drew.

That was your book.

That’s how you danced.

But see now you’re all grown up and you make a resolution and decide, “I’m starting that exercise program tomorrow.”

And listen: You may start.

You may do it for a week.

You may get past a half dozen static cartoon cloud pancakes.

Problem is, there’s a hundred more static cartoon cloud pancakes to go.

Wrote three pages?

Went to your first dance class?

Didya finish your book?

Didya finish all six-weeks of that dance class?

8ad13714.jpg

I’ll bet a dime against a dollar you ran into too many statics.

I know, I know. This is a new idea.

But look at it.

Every single idea or resolution unless manifested in the physical universe is just statikos.

They are standing there on the library shelf of your mind since 1982.

You can find them like a library book in your mind, too.

Just for fun, when was the earliest time you decided you wanted to learn to dance or write a book or play a musical instrument?

See, unless you’ve achieved that goal, it’s still there as a static idea.

I remember when I was in grade school and I first heard the Beatles.

I bought myself a guitar and learned to play.

BAM!

Others will say, “I’ve always wanted to learn to play the guitar.”

Yes. And it’s a great idea.

But it’s really no different than undone laundry.

I’ve had the idea I wanted to write a book for years.

WTF took me so long?

And what changed?

The Keys to the Kingdom:

Let me introduce you to Statics older brother, Kinetics.

Kinetic comes from the Greek word kinētikos, meaning "of motion,” which traces to the verb kinein, meaning "to move."

Stay with me here. I try to keep things simple. Works for me.

You have things you want to do or accomplish in your life in the New Year.

Write a book. Learn to dance. Fly a plane. Open your own business.

These are statics.

And the key that unlocks statics?

Is motion.

I know.

It’s just too fucking simple.

How I Wrote My First Book:

Believe it or not, I learned from reading many famous authors and one in particular who said something so simple at first, but enormously profound:

If you want to be a writer, you need to write.

15ef713c.jpg

See what I’m saying?

That’s like, “If you want to get your laundry done, start with your socks and take them out of your laundry basket and put them into the washer.”

Now wait a dang second.

“If I actually start with my socks, I’m not stopping there…”

Right.

Because once you get into motion, the static of the thing you are overwhelmed by dissolves.

Remember our friend re + solve = loosen up, undo, or dissolve?

The reason why hitting your snooze button on the first day of exercise is such a cliché, is that the idea of getting up to exercise has so many static cloud pancakes sitting on top of your head, that you cannot create enough motion to get your static-ass body out of bed.

He doth speaketh the truth, he does.

Coming Full Circle:

New Year’s Resolutions unfortunately are a reminder that we have made these static decisions each year at this time.

And understand, resolutions in and of themselves are not bad.

But they do not resolve a thing.

In fact they are prey to being another static cloud pancake which you hope to best in the New Year, but in many cases will not make past the static cloud pancake in week seventeen.

The better idea is to say fuck it to resolution as a noun.

Go with big brother re + solve, the verb of the family.

When you resolve to write a book or start your exercise program it means you are going to loosen up and undo all these statics.

See?

Big, big difference.

It’s like stretching before you run or exercise.

Ever hear those creaks and cracks when you stretch?

Yep.

When you don’t move your body it goes all stiff and statikos, but then you stretch and you hear those static body parts poppin!

That’s re + solve = loosening up or releasing.

See, when you do move some laundry into the washer it moves from statikos to resolve.

The action of putting into motion that which is static, dissolves the static.

Do you see this?

Starting a diet or learning to paint you will immediately run into all the statics of never starting.

Which is why people have trouble starting.

And when they start and stop, they most often run into the statics of what it takes to finish.

Ever start something and then leave it incomplete?

A painting. A book. A diet. A home project.

Why did you stop?

Too many static cloud pancakes stacking up right in the middle.

The secret is to first observe you are being held hostage by the statikos or statics of past resolutions and ideas.

They are the books “I intend to read one day.”

How many times have you made this “resolution?"

Those books and your ideas continue to stand still in your mind.

ac2f9097.jpg

If you move your fingers across your keyboard and I mean even one sentence on a page, you will begin to release the statics that are your true barrier to writing.

With one dance class or one day of exercise you begin to dissolve the static of standing still.

And the reason it’s hard to persevere is people underestimate the amount of static cloud pancakes in front of them.

It’s like those Nintendo or Arcade games.

You blast past a bunch of aliens at one level and then there are more.

You aren’t weak willed, nor do you have problems with keeping your resolutions.

You have a problem with the estimation of how many static cartoon clouds you have to go through to be victorious.

Incomplete diets and exercise and dance classes and unfinished books are the graveyard of resolutions that met resistance like five big baskets of laundry.

And for you who are spiritually inclined like I am, and you have any idea how long you’ve been around as an immortal spiritual being, you have to factor in how many static pancake clouds have been hanging over your head and for how long?

Well, all I can tell you is if you stop making resolutions that stand there on the library shelf of your mind and instead get kinetic and put on your verb shoes, eventually your laundry basket is empty.

And there’s your book.

And I believe that was you in the video I saw on Facebook smiling ear to ear as you glided across the ballroom floor.


My best to you in this New Year…

Dave


Comments

Dave Worthen

5 years ago #9

#9
You are very welcome!

Dave Worthen

5 years ago #8

#8
Happy New YearJavier \ud83d\udc1d beBee!!

Dave Worthen

5 years ago #7

#7
HiFranci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman, beBee Brand Ambassador!!Thank you very much! And Happy New Year to you!
Happy New Year !

Dave Worthen

5 years ago #5

#5
Hi Preston \ud83d\udc1d Vander Ven! Thank you very much. Thanks for reading and stopping by and adding to the conversation.I agree with you! Do. It. Now! Have a great New Year!

Dave Worthen

5 years ago #4

#3
Hello CityVP \ud83d\udc1d Manjit! Thank you for taking the time to write here. I love that you have the courage to write---and write well I might add. I appreciate your viewpoint and I too wish you a Happy New Winter Season!

CityVP Manjit

5 years ago #3

A defining difference between you and me is that you [Dave Worthen] write this because you genuinely want to make a difference in the lives of people and those that transform through the gift that you want to give others to help them make a difference, comes from a place of higher calling. I on the other hand have the opposite impulse which is that "you are not going to do this". I may do this and but if you do this it is entirely your decision. That is the same difference as Pontius Pilot is to Jesus, with Pontius washing his hands, turning the decision over to the people. In other words "do what you are gonna do!". I like the idea of static and kinetic - it is a really good way of framing the decision, but I also see resolution for the conformity we fit in and equally the conformity I end up fitting in whether my desire was or was not to conform. So my tongue in cheek post "Quarterly Christmas" is my rant about this particular time of the year, where every "holiday thing" has become the thing that we do as a group, where New Year Resolutions have little to do with actual resolve but part and parcel of the groupthink that many entertain at this time of the year. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/quarterly-christmas-cityvp-manjit Maybe I will be more in touch with my brothers and sisters this time next year simply because I see the power in what you have written here, and I do recall Jiddu Krishnamurti saying "do not follow" but also adding a cavaet that if he helps just five people to see what he is saying, that is enough for him. So "Quarterly Chritmas" comments on the 100 day challenges and how a Quarterly Christmas (90 day periods) fits nicely with party and enjoyment and four "New Seasons" at the end of that Quarterly Christmas are the new resolution points. So from my current vantage point, I have just finished my Winter Christmas and now I wish you a Happy New Winter Season !

Dave Worthen

5 years ago #2

#1
Ha! Jerry Fletcher! Happy New Year to you my friend!

Jerry Fletcher

5 years ago #1

Dave, If I wasn't a guy I'd say, "May I have the next dance?"

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