OPINION | Barry Richard: No New Years Resolutions Needed

OMG! How am I going to live up to all of those New Year's resolutions I made while under the influence of champagne and intoxicated by the holiday spirit?   Relax, you don't have to.

If you are like most people it's back to the grind after the New Year's break.  The reality of the long, cold winter ahead, Christmas bills due to arrive any day and the fact that the tree is still up are enough to make you want to crawl back under the covers until Spring.

While somewhere still deep in the festiveness of the holidays promises were made about a "new me," that includes diets, gym memberships, new attitudes towards work and co-workers and yadda, yadda, yadda.  Good news!  You really don't have to keep those promises.  Well, not the specific promises.

One thing that travelling around the sun a few times teaches you is that you don't have to make New Year's resolutions.  It's near impossible to keep them anyway.  Something I learned long ago, simply committing to being a better person is more than enough and accomplishes much more than a list of stupid specific resolutions.

By committing to be a better person you improve your listening skills.  You empathize more with your fellow beings.  You learn to think more as a part of a unit rather than as an individual.  And, the best part is that you treat yourself better.  That's when dieting and working out, etc... becomes a treat and not a punishment.   Wanting to treat yourself better makes quitting smoking and other bad habits a lot easier and the rewards greater.  Positive energy brings about positive change.  Self-expectations only bring about stress and failure.

Go easy on yourself. After all, you are only human.

Remember too, you don't need to wait until the start of a new year to make positive changes.

Happy New Year!!

Editor's Note: Barry Richard is the afternoon host on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from Noon-3pm. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.