Simplicity the key to success

It is a new year with all the happy vibes that follow after a well-earned rest.

I always have difficulties with a new year as my friends like to make stupid resolutions that they desperately try to enforce on everyone but themselves.

For years I have tried to use this occasion to let go of some of my vices. Cutting down on the amount of alcohol I consume has been one of my resolutions for the last decade. Guess what? It is usually broken within five to 10 minutes.

So am I going to waste my time this year setting goals I have no intention of keeping?

No, rather I am going to try something different. I am making resolutions I think I can keep, those being:

-¢ smile at people more;

-¢ support buskers;

-¢ open a door for a stranger at least four times a week.

I reckon none of these will be too hard to keep and none are likely to get me into too much trouble -“ unlike that year when I decided I would send people bunches of flowers on a regular basis.

Silly me, I thought people liked to receive flowers, but was I wrong. I decided to send a friend of mine a nice bunch of red roses, which just happened to be his favourite bloom. He was having a bad day. Actually, he was having a bloody awful year. Everything was okay until his boyfriend -“ in a moment of stupidity -“ decided the flowers were a sign his lover was having a raging affair.

Obviously that resolution bit the dust -“ and fast. (You will note I confessed and the happy couple are still a happy couple.)

I’ve also tried to cut down on my sugar and caffeine intake -“ though for some stupid reason I tried to do them at the same time. Bad, bad, bad idea. Let’s just say the result was less than appealing and I am fairly certain Coke shares fell around 10 points over that week.

Then there was the year I was given, after months of complaining, a bicycle for Christmas in the hope it would encourage exercise. Cut to me putting it together with the front wheel on backwards and barrelling down a very steep hill. Suffice to say it was passed on to a less accident-prone member of my family.

I guess the best part of a new year is the fact, if not illusion, that you can start off the year with a clean slate. My suggestion is to aim low so you have a better chance of being successful.

Happy New Year.