Gary Nelson "Gary's World" Published Dec. 31, 2004

Here are some New Year resolutions that anyone could keep

Over the past several years I've had a hard time keeping any New Year's resolution that I've made. Maybe I'm weak. It just seems like after a few days of telling myself, "I'm going to lose some weight," or "I'm going to exercise more" that I get caught up in the flow of day-to-day life and the good old resolution just goes by the wayside.

I'll be the first to admit that keeping a New Year's resolution isn't always easy. In fact, I've had such a hard time keeping resolutions in the past that my New Year's resolution for the past couple of years has been not to have any New Year's resolutions. This one is quite controversial because in order to not have a resolution you have to make a resolution which defeats the whole purpose of the original resolution.

See what I mean? You get the picture.

Anyway, some folks take these resolutions quite seriously. Some of the popular resolutions are: spend more time with family, exercise more, lose weight, quit smoking, enjoy life, quit drinking, get out of debt, learn something new, help others, or become better organized. All of these are good, but tough to keep -- especially after the first day.

This year I decided to do something different. For this New Year's resolution I've decided to try and do something easy that I know I can keep. I came up with several of them so I thought I'd share them with any of the readers who need an easy resolution.

Here are some practical New Year's resolutions that almost anyone can keep:

·Wake up every day. Now with this resolution you will have to keep on your guard. If you don't do it then you won't have to worry anymore about not keeping your resolution.

·Eat at least one meal per day. This will be an easy one for almost everybody. If you can't keep this resolution, then you need to seek medical attention for an eating disorder.

·Gain five pounds in the next month. Now this would be a fun resolution to have. Not too many people would have a hard time keeping this resolution.

·Smoke more cigarettes every day. Even the heaviest smoker would have an easy time with this resolution. Heck, who knows, maybe after a few days they might want to quit.

·Lay on the couch all day and don't exercise. Now some folks come by this one honestly. It will hardly take any effort at all to keep this resolution.

·Watch more TV every day. Hey, why not sit back, relax and watch the TV all night long. With a satellite hookup there's bound to be something on worth watching.

·Blink your eyes more often. Now this could be quite an effective resolution for those who just can't seem to blink enough. This one might be a little harder than you think.

·Spend more time in traffic. Lately, this is an effort-free no brainer around Crossville. I don't know, though, it may be tougher to do now that the holidays are coming to an end. If you have to you might need to drive to Knoxville or Nashville to keep this one.

·Don't use any sunscreen this summer. This resolution really takes no effort at all. The nice thing about this resolution is that after a few hours in the sun, you'll get confirmation that you're keeping your resolution.

·Have more fun everyday. Now this truly could be a challenge for some people who take life so seriously. For many others this will be a snap. Enjoy more things in your life and laugh about your own mistakes.

Now don't get me wrong here. I'm not recommending these resolutions. I'm just saying that if you need an easy New Year's resolution to keep -- then don't look any farther than this article.

Here's to a happy, healthy new year for all!

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Gary Nelson is a Chronicle staffwriter. His column appears periodically in the Crossville Chronicle. He can be reached by e-mail at gnelson@crossville-chronicle.com.