A Social Media Phenomenon has been the FaceBook viral passalong “25 Things”.  These 25 things are supposed to be 25 true or surprising things abut you.  It is supposed to be a “shared self-discovery opportunity”.  I did mine, it was cool (if you want to see it, “friend me”, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, fun for the family etc.). 

Well it’s time for the next “Viral Breakout”.

 I’m calling it “Just One Thing”. 

It is almost March, and to be honest, 60-90 days out from setting a resolution is just about the time when most people are letting them go, missing that extra workout, eating that extra “snickerdoodle” if you will.    If you were to ask someone to tell you “how the world should be” they can be incredibly forthcoming.  If you ask them how “they’d like to change their lives”, they’ll have a thousand different ways in which they would improve their existence.

This “truth” exists somewhere between the misguided belief that we have the power to be exactly who we want to be, and that all we lack is the chance to focus on our “better angels” and the rampant self-loathing, moralizing and proselytizing that is built into the psyche of the average American, after years of watching shows like the “Real world” and “Maury Povich” (just admit you watch it, you’ll feel better).

What does that crap that I just said mean?  It means that come March, we have begun to realize that “real life” is a series of trade-offs.  New Years Resolutions require “resolve” and dedication.  Trade-offs are the enemies of resolve.

As it turns out, this morning over coffee, my Design team and I were having our usual chat, and Gina indicated that if she does one thing going forward it will be to do a “century bike ride” before her 4 month old turns 3.  Jo (who’s claim of being “99% muscle” has not been verified at the time of this blog) said that she would like to do 5 times around Nippert Stadium (up and down each flight of stairs, with “up and down” being  one set, just typing this has given me a groin pull) in one workout, all on the jog.

“Wow”.  I said, “so instead of all of the New years crap, what if you just focused on “one thing”, the “one thing” that you would not sacrifice to the trade-offs.  That makes a lot of sense.  If you can’t fix everything, just fix one thing”.  I guess that’s what New Years is supposed to be, but the truth is that resolutions that pile up around New Years is just the fantasy.  You can’t deny the beauty of the idea that you migh be able to actually manage “changing one thing”, can you? You might be able to commit to “Just One Thing” (handy acronym “JOT”) and see it through.  C’mon, no matter how big, you have forever to do it, right?

So I asked everyone in the office to give me the one thing that they would do, and what the time limit for doing it would be. “It can be anything, and you can take as much time as you want. As long as you are satisfied with it, and you won’t give up until you reach your stated goal.”

Here’s what they said:

Gina- 100 mile bike ride before her son turns 3.  “That’s 100 miles consecutively and contiguously, not spread out…”

Jo- 5 times around Nippert by August 31st & start 1 drawing a month.

Rebecca- Only 25 pounds this pregnancy (this caused quite a stir because nobody knew that she was pregnant but me).

Lauren- 10 pounds before bathing suit season-which is May 1, by the way-and keep it off for a year

Sarah-Triathalon in Oct.

Larry-Bring all of my vitals to a healthy level-Keep all of my promises.I’ll do the first part by my birthday, 7/27/09, and keep it that way as long as I rationally can.  The second part starts now and ends when I do.

I am anxous to see how we all do, and who has the most resolve…

So, What’s your “JOT”?