Test your resolve

Definition of a resolution: “A firm decision to do or not to do something”.

I love the time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve as the race towards Christmas is over and we now have a new year to look forward to. What do we want to accomplish in the new year? What do we want to do more of and what did not work in the year gone by?

I will be reading 52 books in the next 52 weeks and here are some that are based on a one year challenge.

Remember the book “Julie and Julia” by Julie Powell. Julie decided to cook every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Childs’ cook book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and that she wanted to do it in one year. It became a bestselling book and also a major motion movie starring Meryl Streep as Julia Childs. Documenting the journey became Julie Powell’s way of doing something that she was in control of.

The following are all ideas that eventually became bestselling books:

“The 100-mile Diet, a year of local eating” by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon is a book about a couple who decided to only eat food that was grown within 100 miles of where they lived. They documented the successes and the challenges that resulted from this and wrote a book about the experiment.

“Not Buying It” by Judith Levine is a book about not spending anything for a year except necessities. The rules were to only spend money on things like food, utilities and toiletries. They renewed their library card before starting and borrowing books and movies became a much loved activity. Gifts were home made, they cancelled the cable and were grateful when company brought wine for dinner. They lost weight, saved money and really got a renewed appreciation of the thrill of buying new socks and a new book once the year has passed.

“So we sold our house and ran away to the South Pacific” by Gordon Cope – also a one year dream/challenge. Mr. Cope and his wife quit their jobs in Calgary and sold their house in order to live in the South Pacific for a year. This was followed up by spending a year in France and England which also turned into books.

“365 Nights: A Memoir Of Intimacy” by Charla Muller. On the eve of her husband’s birthday, Charla told him that his present was going to be sex with her every day for a year. “I never wanted him to look back and ask himself: "Now, what was it Charla bought me for my 40th?" she says. When I came up with the idea of daily sex for a year, I thought I'd hit the jackpot. What man wouldn't think that was the best present ever?

So maybe I will combine all of the above, cook more, continue to support the local economy, travel and have more sex! Sounds like a great beginning to 2012 to me! Happy New Year!