by Richard L. Weaver IIForget about resolutions and promises because most don’t work, and if they do are short-lived and, thus, of little long-range value. Let’s welcome the New Year on a different level — one not quite as lofty or high-minded.
Like anything new, let’s treat ourselves this New Year as we would treat a new car. How do you treat a brand new car? Right now, imagine the car of your dreams — that car that would fulfill all your desires — sitting picture-perfect in the driveway in front of your home.
Just as you would check over your car, let’s first do a check to make certain everything is working as it should. You can run some simple tests yourself, but if you haven’t recently, a visit to the doctor might assist in your status check. Are you eating healthy, exercising regularly, and getting the proper amount of sleep?
The second thing you would do with a new car is to add a few flourishes to personalize your new acquisition. Would new clothes or jewelry signal a refurbished, spruced up, upgrade? How about filling in the gaps in your wardrobe or simply adding to things you received for Christmas?
The exterior of your new car always needs polishing because it is what people notice first. Polishing your exterior doesn’t require resolutions and promises. You can smile more, use greetings that will encourage and inspire others, and meet more people with an outgoing, effervescent, and attractive personality.
Polishing could include new make-up, a change in aftershave, or a distinctive kind of soap in the shower. If a new car smells new, then you may need to improve your hygiene with more changes of clothes, showers, mouthwash, and cleaning of fingernails. Not only will such changes have an effect on others, but you will be amazed at how it revitalizes your spirit as well.
There are other things you can do too. When you get a new car, you spend time just looking at it — admiring your new acquisition. In the same way, you need to step back and look at yourself as a new acquisition. What can you do to make yourself more admirable and respected? There are numbers of ways, and these can be continued throughout the year. The first way is just show up. Be there and be noticed. You can be counted on, and your presence will be even more obvious if you volunteer, participate in forums and small groups, and introduce yourself to anyone you meet who doesn’t know you.
A second way to become admired and respected is to take an interest in others. Ask questions with genuine concern, and become a student of life and others. Also, develop your writing skills. Use proper grammar and punctuation, capitalization, and spelling even in e-mails. By taking your writing ability to its highest level, you will not only make a good first impression as you prepare reports, send messages, and respond to e-mails, but also you will reveal your competence, proficiency, and intelligence.
There are other ways, too, to become both respected and admired. Demonstrating leadership is important. Not only can you volunteer to be a leader of groups, projects, and committees, but you can help others to become more effective and offer appropriate feedback that will improve others’ efficiency and effectiveness. In addition to leadership, you can work smarter by taking advantage of time-management techniques. Getting more done in less time is an important trait and will quickly gain you both respect and admiration..
One of the most important ways to become respected and admired is to avoid looking like an idiot. For example, stop all your silly habits — whatever they may be. Wear only proper attire, and avoid anything the least bit outlandish or controversial. Do not show up late — ever! Do not tell inappropriate jokes, and avoid anything that could be construed as sexual harassment. Also, avoid incessant talking about yourself. In general, if you exercise good judgment and follow the norms of the organization and society, you are likely to remain in safe territory.
Still another way to become admired and respected is to become a knowledgeable source. Perhaps you need to become better informed. Do you need to keep up with the news or read a news magazine? Do you need to know about current events? Do you need to do your homework? Look up things, read relevant books, take classes, interview authorities, and know what you’re talking about. When people know you’re a “considered source” (one who knows what he or she is talking about), your respect will grow, and admiration will surely follow.
Involvement in community activities or local politics or volunteering at your local hospital, library, retirement center, or Salvation Army is a final way to help you become more admired and respected.
Polishing your new vehicle, too, can involve improving your credentials so you will look good in the eyes of others. Get the college degree you never finished; take the adult education classes you need to fill out your background or prepare you for advancement; learn a foreign language; join a club, or take any action necessary to add depth or breadth to your polished facade. Often, your reputation precedes you; if it does, it is likely to be based on your credentials.
Another obvious thing that occurs when you get a new car is that you want other people to see and admire what you purchased. Socialize. Get out and meet new people. Break out from the safe, secure, comfort zone you have established, and let others admire the new you.
There is something else you do when you get a new car, too. You check your insurance policy to make sure everything is in order and that it will cover you in case of an accident or injury. The new year, likewise, is a time to examine all your documents: insurance policies, will, financial records, investments, savings and checking accounts, and everything that contributes to your health, safety, security, and happiness. Bring all your records up-to-date.
It is true that we normally think of the New Year as a time for resolutions and promises, but seldom do we look at it as we would a new car. If we treat ourselves as we do any new object when we first get it, we will come into this New Year with a renewed sense of security, a rejuvenated exterior, a reinvigorated interior, and a foundation that will not just propel us through this year but will assure us, as well, the kind of personal infrastructure that will launch us forward for years to come. Forget about resolutions and promises, take care of your new car!
Like anything new, let’s treat ourselves this New Year as we would treat a new car. How do you treat a brand new car? Right now, imagine the car of your dreams — that car that would fulfill all your desires — sitting picture-perfect in the driveway in front of your home.
Just as you would check over your car, let’s first do a check to make certain everything is working as it should. You can run some simple tests yourself, but if you haven’t recently, a visit to the doctor might assist in your status check. Are you eating healthy, exercising regularly, and getting the proper amount of sleep?
The second thing you would do with a new car is to add a few flourishes to personalize your new acquisition. Would new clothes or jewelry signal a refurbished, spruced up, upgrade? How about filling in the gaps in your wardrobe or simply adding to things you received for Christmas?
The exterior of your new car always needs polishing because it is what people notice first. Polishing your exterior doesn’t require resolutions and promises. You can smile more, use greetings that will encourage and inspire others, and meet more people with an outgoing, effervescent, and attractive personality.
Polishing could include new make-up, a change in aftershave, or a distinctive kind of soap in the shower. If a new car smells new, then you may need to improve your hygiene with more changes of clothes, showers, mouthwash, and cleaning of fingernails. Not only will such changes have an effect on others, but you will be amazed at how it revitalizes your spirit as well.
There are other things you can do too. When you get a new car, you spend time just looking at it — admiring your new acquisition. In the same way, you need to step back and look at yourself as a new acquisition. What can you do to make yourself more admirable and respected? There are numbers of ways, and these can be continued throughout the year. The first way is just show up. Be there and be noticed. You can be counted on, and your presence will be even more obvious if you volunteer, participate in forums and small groups, and introduce yourself to anyone you meet who doesn’t know you.
A second way to become admired and respected is to take an interest in others. Ask questions with genuine concern, and become a student of life and others. Also, develop your writing skills. Use proper grammar and punctuation, capitalization, and spelling even in e-mails. By taking your writing ability to its highest level, you will not only make a good first impression as you prepare reports, send messages, and respond to e-mails, but also you will reveal your competence, proficiency, and intelligence.
There are other ways, too, to become both respected and admired. Demonstrating leadership is important. Not only can you volunteer to be a leader of groups, projects, and committees, but you can help others to become more effective and offer appropriate feedback that will improve others’ efficiency and effectiveness. In addition to leadership, you can work smarter by taking advantage of time-management techniques. Getting more done in less time is an important trait and will quickly gain you both respect and admiration..
One of the most important ways to become respected and admired is to avoid looking like an idiot. For example, stop all your silly habits — whatever they may be. Wear only proper attire, and avoid anything the least bit outlandish or controversial. Do not show up late — ever! Do not tell inappropriate jokes, and avoid anything that could be construed as sexual harassment. Also, avoid incessant talking about yourself. In general, if you exercise good judgment and follow the norms of the organization and society, you are likely to remain in safe territory.
Still another way to become admired and respected is to become a knowledgeable source. Perhaps you need to become better informed. Do you need to keep up with the news or read a news magazine? Do you need to know about current events? Do you need to do your homework? Look up things, read relevant books, take classes, interview authorities, and know what you’re talking about. When people know you’re a “considered source” (one who knows what he or she is talking about), your respect will grow, and admiration will surely follow.
Involvement in community activities or local politics or volunteering at your local hospital, library, retirement center, or Salvation Army is a final way to help you become more admired and respected.
Polishing your new vehicle, too, can involve improving your credentials so you will look good in the eyes of others. Get the college degree you never finished; take the adult education classes you need to fill out your background or prepare you for advancement; learn a foreign language; join a club, or take any action necessary to add depth or breadth to your polished facade. Often, your reputation precedes you; if it does, it is likely to be based on your credentials.
Another obvious thing that occurs when you get a new car is that you want other people to see and admire what you purchased. Socialize. Get out and meet new people. Break out from the safe, secure, comfort zone you have established, and let others admire the new you.
There is something else you do when you get a new car, too. You check your insurance policy to make sure everything is in order and that it will cover you in case of an accident or injury. The new year, likewise, is a time to examine all your documents: insurance policies, will, financial records, investments, savings and checking accounts, and everything that contributes to your health, safety, security, and happiness. Bring all your records up-to-date.
It is true that we normally think of the New Year as a time for resolutions and promises, but seldom do we look at it as we would a new car. If we treat ourselves as we do any new object when we first get it, we will come into this New Year with a renewed sense of security, a rejuvenated exterior, a reinvigorated interior, and a foundation that will not just propel us through this year but will assure us, as well, the kind of personal infrastructure that will launch us forward for years to come. Forget about resolutions and promises, take care of your new car!
Contact Richard L. Weaver II
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ReplyDeleteI gleaned a funny feeling after reading this essay. I couldn't help but wonder... Is the point of polishing your car simply to be admired and respected by others? OR simply a diametrically opposed position to what would be considered the standard or norm?
ReplyDeleteSure, I want to be admired and respected as an artist, but just because my car looks like a hunk of poo doesn't mean the engine "don't run like a kitten!" As much as I am pushed to fit into a mold producing "sellable" artwork, it is the finishing touches that make the work stand out... polishing the car. I am crossing ideas and I digress...
Sometimes a new year brings a smell back to nature you have been missing. A smell of something you want again and your willing to fight for it. Resolutions and promises can be just the same... a rebirth, an aspiration for change. Whether we do or we don't... I don't want to forget about resolutions... through And Then Some... how do I make it work?
Thank you for your comment. You don't have to forget about resolutions; for some people they work very well. But the people who make them work tend to be in a very small minority. My analogy between taking care of a new car and accomplishing some behavioral changes was just that --- an analogy. My thinking, as I put together this essay on "Forget resolutions, polish your new car," was simple. Okay, resolutions don't work for most people. Let me give those people another way to approach change, another way to look at accomplishing new goals, another way to celebrate the New Year with aspirations, expectations, desires, and dreams. The "new car" analogy was simply a vehicle for changing outlooks, perceptions, and futures. If resolutions work, use them. I think the essential point is: change is good! Use the New Year as a way of initiating it.
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