Happy Monday, once again! It’s the last one of 2021. I can’t tell you enough, how I always look forward to Mondays; as they are my 52 Chances each year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with all of you!
With the Christmas hustle and bustle in the rearview mirror, in advance of New Year’s Resolutions Week, which starts next week, now is the time that many of us are focusing on our New Year’s resolutions for 2022 – what we want to stop or start or change about ourselves. Do you have goals you want to attain, during 2022? You’re not alone. Almost everyone makes at least one New Year’s resolution each year. resolve
According to Wikipedia, making a New Year’s resolution is a more common tradition in the Western world than it is in the Eastern one. Supposedly, the tradition originated over 4,000 years ago, when the ancient Babylonians would make year-end promises to the gods, so as to earn their favor in the coming new year.
Most people make resolutions with the best of intentions. However, it’s actually extremely rare to keep a New Year’s resolution all year, let alone all winter. In fact, around 80% of resolutions fail by mid-February, according to an article from Dec. 29, 2015, by Joseph Luciana, that appeared in The U.S. News. Yet, we continue to traditionally make them, in spite of all that.
‘Success is not in never failing, but in never fearing to begin again.’ – Gloria Pitzer, This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret Recipes, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p. 14)
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
Pearls of wisdom and other excerpts by Gloria Pitzer, as seen in…
This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986)
SUCCESS
VIEW YOUR OWN accomplishments, not in terms of how far you still have to go, but of how far you’ve already come. Once you’ve made that first little change in whatever it was that you were doing wrong, you’ve found living proof that change is possible. You don’t have to cover a mile at each stride. The tiny space between a negative act and a positive act is an incalculably large distance. Once you set your mind to believing in yourself, the results may amaze you! (p. 38)
ACHIEVEMENT v. SUCCESS
HELEN HAYES, the great actress, said her mother drew a distinction between achievement and success. Her mother advised her that ‘achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others, and that’s nice too, but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for the achievement and forget about the success.’ (p. 43)
NOW’S THE TIME TO MAKE A DREAM COME TRUE.
WHAT WOULD YOU attempt if you knew you could not fail? Probably nothing that you couldn’t attempt now without a reasonable chance of success. But, by removing the risk, you might attempt things that were a bit more daring or slightly more challenging. (p. 52)
In order to improve my success, in achieving the goals or resolutions I want to set for 2022, I’m taking the extra time now to plan how to stay focused on my end-goal until it’s attained! Usually, that’s easier said than done! For me, creating small steps to reach a goal is always a helpful method to use.
Additionally, it’s helpful to tell others about your goals for accountability or just for support. Working on common goals with a relative, friend, or group of people has also been known to help stick to a goal or resolution, as well. Another aid is in having a reward system for completing each step. This will greatly improve your odds of staying on track, until the final goal is reached. In the end, the biggest reward is the ACCOMPLISHMENT!
‘Refuse to build for yourself… great monuments of nothing. Rather, use the tools at hand and build for yourself – and for prosperity – lasting monuments of achievement, service, and success.’ – William Arthur Ward
The most common New Year’s resolutions are usually involved with wanting to achieve some kind of physical self-improvement goal(s). Among the most common resolutions that people make are to quit smoking, eat healthier, lose weight, and/or start exercising.
Other bad habits people resolute about quitting are drinking, gambling, spending, and so on. Should you start a resolution and fail to follow it through to the end, remember these old classic adages: “if, at first, you don’t succeed; try, try again” and “never quit quitting!” They’re trite but true!
MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p. 53)
GET WHAT YOU REALLY WANT OUT OF LIFE
IT’S HARD TO SAY which is worse, the person who doesn’t know what he wants and won’t be happy until he gets it, or the one who knows what he wants and can’t get it.
ENTHUSIASM
VERY LITTLE CAN STOP the person who is on their way to where they want to go in life. They’re motivated by enthusiasm for what they want to accomplish. I’m thinking now of the blind woman who was determined to learn how to cook. Each day she worked with her ingredients, tasting each and marking the containers so that she would know how to find them.
She worked and worked with the stove and how to regulate the heat so that she would not undercook, nor overcook anything. With each new day, she set for herself one thing she would learn to do. Her exhilaration at the small successes only made her more anxious to tackle a bigger accomplishment.
Within six months, she proudly entered her from-scratch chocolate cake in the county fair, and took home the blue ribbon, awarded to her by six judges who tasted 25 other entries and did not know that she was blind.
Enthusiasm is the tool of accomplishment. A genius is not someone who was exceptionally intelligent – as if made in some other image than from which the rest came, but merely someone driven to constructive action by a great enthusiasm. The essence of enthusiasm is that we feed on challenge!
There aren’t any written “rules” about making resolutions. It really doesn’t matter when you start a resolution. The important thing is to see it through and commit yourself to its eventual success. There’s nothing to prevent you from changing the start date and/or deadline, making a new resolution, or reiterating one you’ve already made but haven’t accomplished yet. More often than not, many New Year’s resolutions are abandoned at the first sign of failure.
I’ve tried the “fake it ‘til you make it” approach many times – it just doesn’t seem to work for me in the long run. I’ve discovered, within myself, that I’m not going to change anything – not for very long anyway – if I don’t truly want to change it in the first place.
I’ve found that the change needs to come from within me and only for my own satisfaction – not to please anyone else. Thus, the mind-over-matter approach works best for me. I must also be committed! It takes the power of positive thinking and commitment, among other things, to succeed in anything.
Believe in yourself! The important thing, for success, is to “get back on the horse.” Mom used to tell me that it’s not will power that leads to successful resolutions, it’s the WON’T power. I won’t give up! I won’t give in! I won’t quit!
‘When you’re wishing for a happier, fuller life, a life with real meaning, there’s a need to remain steadfastly receptive to intuitions & inspirations that whisper to the listening thought of hope & courage.’ – Gloria Pitzer, Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipes Newsletter (Secret Recipes, St. Clair, MI; Issue 183, Nov-Dec 1997; p. 10)
LAST THOUGHTS…
The traditional New Year’s Eve anthem, known as Auld Lang Syne, originated in the 18th century; as an old Scottish poem, written over 233 years ago, in 1788, by Robert Burns. However, the poem was made even more famous, in the 20th century, by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians’ musical version.
He and his band traditionally sang it every New Year’s Eve for almost 40 years (1939-1977). Even now, it’s still played/sung every New Year’s Eve at the stroke of midnight to say goodbye to the old year and to celebrate the new one.
‘Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.’
– Robert Burns (1759 – 1796)
The most commonly sung parts (or should I say “mis-sung” parts – in our own drunk interpretations) of Auld Lang Syne are the first verse and chorus. The song, in theory, begs the question, “Should we leave ‘it’ behind us and forget about ‘it’ (whatever ‘it’ may be)?” When I think about it, I can’t help but ask myself, “how can I learn from my mistakes if I forget about them?”
‘You never realize what a good memory you have until you try to forget something.’ – Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipes Newsletter (Secret Recipes, St. Clair, MI; Issue 146, Sep-Oct 1990; p. 7)
In honor of TODAY, being National Fruitcake Day, here is Mom’s copycat recipe for Hawaiian Hilton Fruitcake; as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes© Book (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; June 1997, p. 14)
P.S. Food-for-thought until we meet again, next Monday…
Some of December’s month-long observances include… National Write A Business Plan Month, National Pear Month, Root Vegetables and Exotic Fruits Month, Safe Toys and Gifts Month, Worldwide Food Service Safety Month, National Human Rights Month, and Universal Human Rights Month!
Tomorrow, December 28th is… National Chocolate Candy Day, National Card Playing Day, and Pledge of Allegiance Day!
Wednesday, December 29th is… National Pepper Pot Day!
Thursday, December 30th is… National Bicarbonate of Soda Day, Falling Needles Family Fest Day, and National Bacon Day!
Friday, December 31st is… National Champagne Day, National Make Up Your Mind Day, and New Year’s Eve! Plus, being the last work day of the year, it’s also… No Interruptions Day! Additionally, from 11:30 p.m. on December 31st to 12:30 a.m. on January 1st of each year, it’s the… Universal Hour of Peace!
Saturday begins a whole new year – 2022! To start, some of January’s month-long observances include… National Blood Donor Month, National Hobby Month, National Hot Tea Month, National Mentoring Month, National Oatmeal Month, National Slow Cooking Month, National Soup Month, and National Sunday Supper Month!
January 1st also celebrates… New Year’s Day, National Bloody Mary Day, and National Hangover Day! Plus, for 2022, it’s also… National Play Outside Day, which is always the first Saturday of EVERY MONTH!
Sunday, January 2nd is… National Buffet Day and National Cream Puff Day! Additionally, the first week of January celebrates, among other things… Diet Resolution Week, Celebration of Life Week, and New Year’s Resolutions Week!
…52 down and a whole new year to go, starting next week!
I’ll see you next year!
