New Year's Resolutions

The favorite topic this time of year is New Year’s resolutions. Some say, “Never make ‘em.” Others say, “Never keep ‘em.” That must mean the group that makes them and keeps them are truly unique and the lot of them would probably fit in my living room.


There’s no need to bash resolutions though. It’s noble that people even want to change themselves or their circumstances for the better. The rub is when that little Nay bird is flitting around in the subconscious because what one resolves to accomplish is daunting when looked at like trying to swallow a pill the size of that New Year’s day ham in the center of the table in a single gulp.

One small change in the way resolutions are made could be the difference between success and failure. Instead of saying (for example), “I’m going to lose twenty five pounds this year.” Why not simply re-frame the goal this way: “I’m going to work toward losing weight in the New Year.”

Now, doesn’t that sound much more doable?

I realize it's an over-simplification, but, let’s not stop with that minor change; resolve to make daily resolutions towards that end. Every morning, get out of bed and say aloud, “Today I’m going to skip lunch... just because.” Or, “Today I’m not going to eat that mid-afternoon snack.”  Or even, "Today I'll have an apple instead of a donut for breakfast."

There is a saying in the business world that goes something like this: Insanity is doing the same things day after day but expecting different results. This is certainly applicable to the making of resolutions.

So make your resolutions and then begin changing your routine in tiny, manageable ways every day. You’ll get to where you’re going; I promise, and it’ll be quite painless, too.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/Spring 2010
"Anne Bonny, Where Are You?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/May 2010

Start Marketing Your Book - Paradise Flawed

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Daniel Lance Wright

Author

Paradise Flawed

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A Real Tongue Lashing

Trivia time: What’s the strongest muscle in the human body per ounce of tissue? If you guessed the tongue, then you’ve just won the right to smile. Enjoy the moment!


Any statement espoused as fact really should be given a reference source for credibility, but I confess, this tongue thing came to me embedded within a forwarded email. You know internet tripe that you probably spend more time erasing than reading.

How could you not believe it, though? Gee whiz, between eating and talking, it has to be the most exercised muscle of them all. We may be stumbling onto the fitness craze of the near future, purposely weakening a muscle so the rest of our body has a chance to become lean and strong.

Think about it.

Since we are attempting to provoke beneficial thoughts, and we’ve already mentioned a muscle pretty well taken for granted, let me remind you that, as you pump up those major muscle groups, to make all you women appear and feel svelte and all you guys to have major guns and barrel-chests, don’t overlook all the smaller muscles in your body. It takes magnificent harmonizing of related muscles, big and small, to do things like rotate the arms forwards or backwards three-hundred-sixty degrees, rotate the neck, the wrists and the legs.

If you think it’s unnecessary to concern yourself with the minor muscles, then consider this; you work out in the weight room, cardio room or aerobics room hard for months and you’re feeling pretty darned cocky about your level of fitness.

Sounding familiar yet?

Then someone invites you to, let’s say, go water skiing for the first time in a year.

Yep, you know where this is going. Don’t you?

The morning after the day at the lake and you’re so sore that sitting up on the edge of the bed may just be wishful thinking for a time.

I would urge everyone to dedicate a day to the smaller muscles of the body and work on range of motion in all the appendages. Your body will love you for it.

One word of caution, though; any resistance used in full range-of-motion routines should be very light—if any at all.

 Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/Spring 2010
"Anne Bonny, Where Are You?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/May 2010

When Conservation Becomes Self-serving

I've always been proud of the gas mileage my little Buick LaCrosse got, usually around 29 mpg. But a couple of weeks ago I noticed that I seemed to be running out faster, so I checked the mileage. It had dropped to between 25 and 26 mpg. That very day I read an article in the newspaper that said gasoline that was a 10% ethanol blend would drop gas mileage about 3 mpg. So, my question was answered. That's when I began wondering about ethanol as a means of conservation; is it? Does it conserve gasoline? Does it conserve anything? Or, is it simply an alternative fuel? Consider this: Ethanol shortens the life of an engine (documented fact), therefore more vehicles would have to be purchased/junked at a faster pace. How much fuel and petrochemicals are involved in the manufacture and/or disposal of automobiles. I submit that the paltry 10% gasoline savings at the pump will ultimately use many times that amount in crude oil in the process just mentioned. Oh, and by the way, that 10% gasoline savings at the pump is directly offset by the 10% loss in miles per gallon. So, in summary; I believe the manufacture of ethanol is indeed a necessary endeavor as an emergency backup fuel, but don't ever try to convince me that it's a means of conserving crude oil or gasoline.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/Spring 2010
"Anne Bonny, Where Are You?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/May 2010

The Art of Conversation

I've never considered myself to be terribly adept at the art of conversation; in fact I usually become tense when things go quiet and forget questions I meant to ask or topics I wanted to discuss. This came to mind yesterday when I was re-introduced to a fellow writer and shared coffee and a lengthy conversation. Lorelei Buckley (author of "From The Other Side"/Wild Child Publishing) is a wonderful conversationalist. I was instantly at ease and we shared ideas and traded stories for two hours. But, it wasn't my ability that kept it going. She knew how to frame questions and toss out interesting ideas that kept me wanting to keep on visiting much longer than we did. I was so impressed that I'm looking forward to our next conversation. And, I've vowed to work at improving my contribution to it next time. I believe the art of conversation is not a genetic thing; instead, it's something rehearsed over and over until it nears perfection... and I'm way behind.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright


Author of

"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009

"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007

"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/Spring 2010

"Anne Bonny, Where Are You?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/May 2010

Avatar

I went to see Avatar yesterday. Frankly, I thought it did a magnificient job of living up to the hype and, since it cost $300,000,000 to produce, I should hope so. It was visually stunning. About halfway through it, I began to notice the comparison to the American West when white settlers were in the process of driving Native Americans out. It was not an overt comparison, but a comparison nonetheless. It is well worth the price of a ticket and, of course, an overpriced drink and box of popcorn.  Oh, and by the way, I now have a crush on a ten-foot-tall blue woman with a tail and huge golden eyes. She almost looked human.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright


Author of

"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009

"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007

"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/Spring 2010

"Anne Bonny, Where Are You?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/May 2010

Read For Pleasure

I just received what I thought was a good answer for why a huge majority of people don't enjoy reading for pleasure and it came from a high school English teacher. She believes, as I now do, that kids are forced to read novels in school as an academic exercise and made to write essays on them. That instantly puts this type of reading in the "chore" category. It made a huge amount of sense to me. I don't know what I should do about it except, maybe, turn my rant on the schools. And, maybe, we need more J. K. Rowlings out there to get the younguns interested sooner.

I'd love to have more opinions on this.


Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright


Author of

"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009

"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007

"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/Spring 2010

"Anne Bonny, Where Are You?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/May 2010

A Thought

It still amazes me how many people I run into on a daily basis that think of reading as a dreaded chore. I would appreciate suggestions on how to change that. I'm not sure what it is in a person's past that leaves them with that opinion but it's unhealthy. Each time I ask, the standard answer is, "Dunno. Just don't like it."

Could it be that the answer lies with the speed in which we live our lives in this modern world? It would seem a logical answer except for the fact it doesn't bother a huge segment of our population to put life on hold for an entire Sunday afternoon to watch a couple of football games. So, that couldn't be the problem.

I just hope reading for enjoyment isn't confined to a shrinking number in this country.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright


Author of

"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009

"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007

"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/Spring 2010

"Ann Bonney, Where Are You?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/May 2010