It’s December 1st, which means it’s time for me to begin planning my New Year’s Resolutions. I take these seriously and begin planning them a month out. Any fool can resolve to change things New Year’s Day when they’re hungover, their belly is flopping around, and they’re full of regret. Drink less and get in shape is a New Years Resolution standard, kind of like turkey for Thanksgiving.
At my gym, I refer to the first 15 days of the New Year as tourist season. People show up motivated and driven by the hopes of meaningful change. They seldom stick around. Old habits take over. Their muscles start to hurt. And they justify not returning – it’s too expensive, it takes too much time, it hurts too much, I wasn’t as bad off as I had thought. All the things. Tourist season in the gym. It never lasts long.
I have a standard secondary New Year’s resolution I’ve recommitted to for many years. It’s from the late New Orleans musician Alan Toussaint and it’s this: "Everything I do gonna be funky from now on." It’s one of his songs. The first line is: "Just be myself and do my thing."
It’s my reminder that fitting in is overrated. I know folks who try to fit in and I find each of them, to a person, unremarkable. I resolve to not be that guy. I'm gonna try to be funky, again, this year.
My primary New Year’s resolutions target a behavior deeply held. An old habit. If I can change a habit, I know I can tackle most things. A few years ago, I resolved to change how I wave when I’m in the car. We wave in my neck of the woods here in Mobile, Alabama. To walkers. To runners. To friends in cars. To strangers. We’re quite friendly. And for years my wave was to raise my thumb, my index finger, and my middle finger off the steering wheel and shake my hand back and forth three times. You’ve seen this wave. That, along with a smile, and I did it without thinking. But I resolved to change it. Not because something new would be better, but to prove I could change. And I did. I turned to the garage door wave. Four fingers around the steering wheel unroll to a wave and roll back down – garage door style. It’s a hard change. It took a while. But I did it.
And I’ve always been a sock sock, shoe shoe guy. Beginning January second - the first is a holiday, after all - beginning January second, I resolve to become a sock shoe, sock shoe guy. I’ve been a sock sock. shoe shoe guy since I was a toddler, so this will be a big one. Sock shoe, sock shoe is a bit inefficient, but I welcome a little inefficiency to prove to myself I’m capable of change. Sock shoe, sock shoe. It will be my focus in 2024. I did a practice run when I got dressed this morning and it went - OK. This one’s going to take some time. I felt like I was dressing another man.
I’m Cam Marston, just trying to Keep It Real.
