While visiting with a friend a few weeks ago I happened to notice his very fine looking cat. He was long, strong and lithe and when he walked you could see the speed and power that these feline predators possess. I remarked how good he looked and inquired of his age thinking he looked so young. I also couldn’t help but notice how affectionate this cat was toward my friend. When I remarked about that as well my friend replied that the secret to keeping a cats attention and affection was to keep from over feeding them! I had never before been so fully introduced to the meaning of “fat cat”.
I had never before considered the origins of the term but could easily have mistaken it for an over weight jazz player or some other beatnik type of interpretation. Perhaps a derivation of that cat really swings! In any event it brings me to today's subject of resolutions which is appropriate for me since it is New Year’s Day.
The importance of adopting a resolution and achieving its goal cannot be denied. It builds self-control, raises self-esteem and provides for personal growth. Certainly achieving an adopted goal provides for self-fulfillment as well since it creates the feeling of productivity and provides a foundation of positive reinforcement in ones life. In the same way it can provide for negative reinforcement if we are too aggressive in our resolutions and we end up with a consistent string of failures. I know this because for several years I made resolutions to explore self-improvement!
I am a great believer in the adoption of resolutions and and come up with a few every year at this time, however my track record is somewhat spotty. I have had many and I think that determination to continue the practice has led me to achieve several that have been important to me. The most important from my perspective was to finally quit smoking cigarettes. That habit had long completely vexed me by exerting its insidious control over me. Finally after many tries and some multi year successes I now enter my 12th year without so much as a puff. I did pick one up one time but quickly put it down knowing from experience that if I smoked one I would be right back to a pack a day. Even now after 12 years I could smoke one and enjoy it and probably chew the filter afterwards.
This year’s resolution brings me to my fat cat experience. Losing 10 pounds has been on my list of resolutions consistently over the past ten years. The result has been that for the last ten years I have been trying to lose the same ten. Unfortunately that has led me to the point where the 10 now have turned into 15! Those 15 have turned me into a fat cat. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the human version of the fat cat it means frequent visits to the refrigerator, naps in front of the TV and crumbs on the front of a sweater. Further evidence is a gym bag full of clean sweats but the bag covered with dust. Being a fat cat can have mental as well as physical implications. Perhaps it means being closed to new ideas, or new people or even new experiences. This is unacceptable!
So without further delay I usher in 2005 with a firm resolve to lose 15 pounds! I etch this goal in stone by admitting to a 205 pound starting point and a 38-inch waist! I go forth with great determination and expectations of success so let the games begin!
The bride just offered me a piece of fudge she had made this morning. I can see that this is going to be difficult. Happy New Year!
