One of my New Year’s resolutions is to QUIT being so hard on myself.

Life is too short, and there are days when you are just not going to get it all right, despite your best efforts and intentions.

Every year, I roll my eyes when people start yammering about making resolutions. I have been fighting this war since I was in middle school.

Every year I say, NO!. This year, I will NOT fall into this-destined-to-fail trap and make resolutions that will vanish come March. And every year I am back up at the altar of “but it’s fun and it’s a harmless tradition, I got this one!…”

And so this year I decided to make an un-resolution resolution to escape the shame and live the dream! Hence, the not being so hard on myself! Aha!

What does the UR of the R spawn? Whole corrals of self-help books at bookstores, long lines at Health Food stores, a surge in gym memberships, a temporary dip in cigarette sales, fantastic sneaker and yoga pant sales and a whole lot of people huffing and chuffing around the Loop at Wrightsville Beach-just to name a few.

It’s a bit like the surge in attendance at churches ‘round Easter…there won’t be anywhere to sit at Lovey’s this month and you are NOT going to get a parking spot at the WAC or a yoga mat space at Seaside Yoga until after Valentine’s Day!

This is one of those temporary religious flings that does no harm, however. There are no lasting scars or regrets (unless you bought a no-escape gym membership with a private trainer contract that you CAN’T afford that goes until the end of eternity-been-there-done-that!).

Plus, the world is a slightly fitter place for a few weeks-until we all backslide into a box of Valentine’s truffles and then start the guilt-treadmill cycle all over again.