At the start of 2012 we considered the futility of New Year resolutions; this year I thought we’d look at change, since any resolution requires it.
According to Francis Bacon, “Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly.”
Arnold Bennett said, “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.”
Anatole France elaborated on that thought, “All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.”
That said, it is still wise to heed the words of Ellen Glasgow, “All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.”
Maya Angelou captured the idea of what to change in a nutshell when she said, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
Wise words and very true, but as Leo Tolstoy points out, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
Change is a necessary part of growth, but I disagree with what Winston Churchill said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” No matter how much or how often you change you will never be perfect.
One more very important point—share your changes; as Lillian Hellman reminds us, “People change and forget to tell each other.”
In ending, and since the New Year is almost upon us, let me propose a toast, “Here’s to positive change in 2013.
Everybody and their brother are doing Best and Worst for 2012 lists on dozens of topics, so I thought I’d provide something a different. Below are links to six odd bits involving the Internet.
Do you consider yourself Internet savvy? Too smart to click on iffy links or fall for the latest in phishing stories? That’s great, but how are you at avoiding extortion?
Essentially online extortion, ransomware involves infecting a user’s computer with a virus that locks it. The attackers demand money before the computer will be unlocked, but once the money is paid, they rarely unlock it.
If extortion is what it took to get you to focus on security you would probably appreciate some info on how to create passwords that hackers hate.
Hackers regularly exploit tools like John the Ripper, a free password-cracking program that use lists of commonly used passwords from breached sites and can test millions of passwords per second.
The Internet is the greatest face-to-face avoidance tool ever invented; in most cases that not good, but there are times when doing things at a distance and avoiding direct contact is a boon for all involved.
Let’s just say that no matter how well ex-spouses and still-parents coordinate, there’s a good chance of teary phone calls, angry exchanges during drop-off, and all-out fights about who’s not saving enough for college, often played out smack in front of the children. Unless, of course, it’s all done remotely. (…) It’s joint custody — at a distance.
“We have an internal tagline: Use the Internet to get off the Internet,” said Kathryn Fink, community manager at Meetup, an online-to-offline start-up with 11 million members. (…) Hybrid social networks are connecting strangers with similar interests online, then directing them to meet in person for dinners, bar-hopping, bowling or biking excursions. Unlike dating or networking sites, these start-ups are focused simply on helping users make new friends and hang out face to face. If a hookup or job interview results — well, that’s just an added bonus.
While cell phones don’t fit technically into a review of Internet odd bits, I thought you would find this article on nomophobia of interest.
Doctors at a California recovery center say they are working with more and more patients suffering from nomophobia, or the fear of being away from their mobile devices, and that the condition can seriously interfere with people’s lives. (…) “One of the biggest things is anxiety or fear or panic at even the thought of losing their phone,” she said. “They make sure their phone is constantly in their reach, obsessively checking the battery life, and take their phone into inappropriate places to use it.”
Finally, while people may be familiar with Harvey Ball, the guy who designed the yellow smiley face in 1963, fewer recognize the name of Scott Fahlman, who created the :-) 20 years later.
In 1982, as a young professor at Carnegie Mellon University, he realized the need for a symbol to temper the bickering that plagued online forums. The Internet was just a baby then, and yet already flame wars raged. Fahlman decided that a smiley face could be useful as a “joke marker” (as he called it) to take the sting out of mocking statements or pranks.
Whoever came up with this one is a genius. “A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”
With his usual wisdom, Mark Twain reminds us that resolutions are necessary to keep the Department of Transportation running smoothly (and in this economy that’s very important). “New Year’s Day – Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”—
I’ve never understood why people would even consider starting their resolutions January first. That’s definitely setting yourself up to fail and Helen Fielding agrees with me, “I do think New Year’s resolutions can’t technically be expected to begin on New Year’s Day, don’t you? Since, because it’s an extension of New Year’s Eve, smokers are already on a smoking roll and cannot be expected to stop abruptly on the stroke of midnight with so much nicotine in the system. Also dieting on New Year’s Day isn’t a good idea as you can’t eat rationally but really need to be free to consume whatever is necessary, moment by moment, in order to ease your hangover. I think it would be much more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second” Note, the second only works if it’s not a holiday as it was this year.
Food, or more likely food abstinence, plays a role in probably 90% of resolutions, but is it really necessary? Perhaps Jay Leno has a point—or at least a great rationalization—“Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means you’ve met your New Year’s resolution.”
But if you really want to lose weight here’s some popular wisdom with which you can’t go wrong, “People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas”
I’d like to offer you my New Year’s wishes in the words of Joey Adams, “May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.”
Finally, do read the links in the first paragraph; they’ll help make 2012 a banner year for you!
One great thing about the holidays is that it makes choosing a topic easy.
What do you do New Year’s Day? Does it have significance for you beyond hangovers, bowl games, friends and food?
Is it a day of reflection or one for making resolutions?
I’m not a believer in resolutions, but people keep making them. Common wisdom says A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.
Mark Twain agrees with that senitment, only puts it far more strongly, New Year’s Day – Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.
Resolutions are often made in the heat of the moment and the ability to see them through stems from MAP or, as Cavett Robert puts it, Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.
‘Resolution’ has another meaning that resonates much more than the New Year’s type and one into which I fully buy; in the words of Abraham Lincoln, Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.
I also like the words of Edith Lovejoy Pierce to describe this day, 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.
Finally, in an effort to offer a bit of insight, dare I say wisdom, on the first day of 2011 I share with you the words of P. J. O’Rourke, If you are young and you drink a great deal it will spoil your health, slow your mind, make you fat – in other words, turn you into an adult.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
Make the most of it!
At the start of 2012 we considered the futility of 
When writing on a repeat subject, such as New Year’s resolutions, I check my archives in an effort not to repeat myself. I’ve offered advice on 
One great thing about the holidays is that it makes choosing a topic easy.
