Some New Year's Resolutions To Consider For 2012

I know, I know: we haven't even gotten through Christmas 2011 yet, so why am I thinking about New Year's resolutions for 2012 already? Well, I just am. So get over it. It's never too early, after all!

Here are a few fairly-general ideas worth thinking about if you're the type who does the whole resolution thing around year-end:

Be more considerate of others - This sounds like a "motherhood and apple pie" type resolution, but I wish more people would actually spend some time on this one. For example: this morning, Vicki is crafting a very polite letter to circulate through our neighbourhood shortly about the person who honks his/her horn several times as they leave the house every weekday morning. This is around 8:00 a.m., when retired folks like us are likely to still be sleeping. Her letter kindly asks that whoever is doing it please just wave instead, since that's not likely to bother anyone. It boggles my mind that anyone would be that rude in the first place, but we have daily proof to the contrary. This is, I suppose, just a more extreme example of one of my biggest pet peeves: people who lock their vehicle by repeatedly pressing the lock button on their keyfob until the horn blares. Apparently they're too stupid to realize one press will work, or too lazy to care. Whatever the case, they basically don't give a shit who they bother, and that's behaviour that's definitely worth changing by way of a New Year's resolution.

Waste less water - About 15 or 20 years ago, I stopped running the tap while I was brushing my teeth. I'd turn on the water whenever I put the toothbrush under it or to wash stuff down the drain, but the rest of the time I'd just be brushing away and there'd be no need for water to be running. I'm so used to that mindset of water conservation now that it floors me whenever I see someone wasting the stuff. In a public restroom, for example, it's not uncommon even today to see some idiot running the faucet while he combs his hair or admires himself in the mirror. Vicki and I recently watched Blue Gold: World Water Wars on Netflix, one of several documentaries out there on the frightening topic of our depleting fresh water supply. Granted, one person conserving a few litres a day isn't going to save the world, but it's like anything: we can all lead by example. And if you need a little bit of mental help on this one, try imagining that water cost as much as gasoline, because someday soon it may (in some parts of the world, it already does).

Be sure to pay your way through life - In this age of online piracy, self-absorption and instant gratification, it's easier than ever to fall into a pattern of believing that "it's all about me," or more specifically, "it's all about me getting what I want." That's all well and good, but there are a whole lot of other people out there, too. So if you're the type of person who justifies downloading content because you think corporations are evil and you're "sticking it to the man," then find a way to send some cash directly to the sorts of artists whose work you're enjoying. It's never been easier to find ways to do so than it is right now, between Kickstarter-type projects, local/indie concerts and shows, self-published authors (hello!!), and "pay what you can" homegrown offerings. Anyone who uses the rationalization that "hardly any of my money goes to the artists anyway" to explain away their pirating lifestyle is a complete hypocrite if they're not funding the creators directly nowadays. I know of several people who are shining examples of what I'm advocating; I suspect I also know lots of people who aren't. If you're in that second camp, maybe 2012 is your chance to make a change for the better?

Those are just a handful of simple changes we all could stand to make. Or, I guess, we could all just resolve to go on a diet, eat more vegetables, or get to the gym more often... but those hardly ever seem to stick!