Setting up New Year's Resolutions

In the blog I write for Deer Valley Resort, I recently fictionalized the process of setting New Year's resolutions. Last night, at dinner, I asked who had already picked those important, personal markers for 2010; no one had. This process is serious enough to warrant the utmost preparation in order to see our goals attain successful fruition. This goal-setting process is the result of varied sources of motivation. First there's the urgency; if the house is on fire, we need to address that, if we have no money, we must earn some in a hurry, etc.

Then there are the necessities of life, like learning how to swim if we're stranded in Polynesia, learning to speak Swahili if we get a job in Tanzania or learning to fly a 737 if we are offered a first-officer position with Southwest Airlines. Finally there is the “would be nice to” category, that wouldn't affect our lifestyles too much like taking on fly-fishing or learning watercolor painting. For today, I'll forgo the urgency and focus on the utilitarian and the “nice to” categories, and will report to you what these resolutions will be, right here, before the decade is over...