Daddy Dan

I’ve saved this last, and most important resolution for last. I debated whether or not to share it here, but decided it may help me to overcome the addiction I’ve had and want to get rid of. It may surprise you to know that I use snuff, which is a type of chewless tobacco. It is a nasty habit and I’ve promised my wife before that I would quit using it, but it is very difficult to kick the habit.

The tobacco can have serious health consequences if used over a long period of time, something which I’m approaching soon. I started using it when I played baseball, quit for a while, and then started up again when I started playing in softball leagues. It is very addicting, but for both my own sake and my son and wife’s sake, I’m serious about quitting this time around. I’ve bought some quit smoking patches to use. I’ve tried them before and they do take away the urge to use tobacco.

I hope you’ll all support me in my attempt to quit. Like the other three resolutions I’ve listed in earlier posts, I plan to report on my progress on a regular basis as the year goes by.

I started my original blog in the late summer and switched over here to Daddydan.net around Thanksgiving. I’m so happy I started this and am grateful that I’ve met so many wonderful people. I hope that 2008 is the best year for each and every one of you.

Happy New Year!

I know this is a very cliche resolution.  Everyone always adds this resolution to their list, the gyms rake in the cash in January and are packed until February, when most people quit.  So, I’m adding this to my list again this year, but this time I think I’ll be able to stick to it.  Why do I think I can do what I haven’t been able to do in the past?  Three reasons:

1. I have an addictive-type personality - If I can just force myself to go on a regular basis for at least a month I’m hoping to get addicted to going.
2. I’m going to work out at work during lunch - My work has a very nice gym in the building.  I used to work out there regularly, either going in the morning before work or right after work.  I think that was my downfall in the past because there were always excuses to miss work.  In the morning, I would sleep in too long or traffic was bad or I had an early meeting.  In the evening, I would have to work late or have somewhere to go after work.  I plan on working out right at the beginning of lunch and then eat my lunch at my desk afterward.  I eat at my desk now a lot anyway, so it won’t be that much of a change in my routine.
3. I really, really WANT to get in shape - I’m not getting any younger and the older you get the harder it is to get back into shape, so I need to do this now before it’s too late.

“We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Most people like to list New Year’s resolutions this time of year.  Most people, I think, expect to be able to achieve these resolutions, but most of them fail.  For those of us who have had gym memberships we all know that the gyms are packed in January and not so packed in February.  Why can’t we keep our resolutions?

“He who breaks a resolution is a weakling;
He who makes one is a fool.”
~F.M. Knowles

I think we usually don’t do a good job of keeping to our resolutions because we aren’t held accountable for them by anyone but ourselves, and we’re usually really easy on ourselves.  If someone else were to hold us accountable, like many of us are held accountable for our performance at work, with performance plans, I think we’d do a much better job of sticking to our New Year’s resolutions.

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”
~Benjamin Franklin

I think listing my resolutions here on my blog will help me to focus on them throughout the year.  I plan on providing monthly updates on how I’m doing on my resolutions on the last day of each month.  That way I will revisit what I’ve vowed to accomplish twelve times during the year.  I hope this will help me accomplish what I want to accomplish this coming year.

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
~Oprah Winfrey

“If you don’t get everything you want, think of the things you don’t get that you don’t want.”

  ~Oscar Wilde

I’m going to continue listing New Year’s resolutions I come up with until the New Year arrives.  I have a major one coming up soon, so stay tuned, but for today, my second resolution for 2008 is to stop whining and complaining. 

To my wife’s chagrin, I have a tendency to whine or complain when asked to do something.  It’s almost like a habit now, at times.  I don’t even know why I do it, I just know that I do it and it’s annoying.  I think maybe it’s my way of trying to get out of doing things, hoping my wife will just get tired of the whining and do what she’s asking me to do herself.  Anyway, the whining hasn’t worked, so I need to break that habit.

I remember a quote that says something about the definition of being crazy is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  I don’t want to be thought of as crazy, so the complaining needs to stop.

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.”  - John Wooden

My number one New Years resolution this year is going to be to put 100% effort into everything I decide to do.  Being so busy with so many things so easily leads you to put in the minimum effort required to get by, but I’m starting to realize that this type of effort is unsatisfying and empty.  I need to start putting my best efforts into everything I do, whether it’s as a husband, father, employee, family member, friend, or blogger.  I’ve definitely been coasting lately and it’s been bothering me.  It’s time to do something about it.