Policy VS. Resolution

I dislike New Years resolutions. I've never made one in my life. Besides disliking the fact that they are temporary and are rarely kept, I dislike the word resolve because it is awkward-sounding to say and it started becoming popularized and excessively used in noun form (as in: I admire your resolve) by President Bush (and then the common American vinacular) soon after 9/11. But I digress.

I wanted to share with my readers some success I've been having recently with what I call "policies". I've been setting policies for myself regarding what I will and won't do in social situations. Most are won't-dos, but that's OK. It prevents me from being roped into doing something I dislike and it prevents me from feeling bad and coming up with lame excuses. Policies also prevent pretentiousness and create honesty and people like that. Policies are much more permanent than resolutions and are more about protocol, rather than will-power.

Here's a couple for instances:
- When someone says a word and I don't know what it means, I stop them and simply say, "I don't know what that word means." rather than pretending I do know what it means.

- I won't listen to "jam bands" or try to like them for someone who tries to get me to listen to My Morning Jacket or Phish or Dave Matthews or Greatful Dead. I don't listen to jam bands and I skip over the articles about them in magazines.

I have a handful of solid policies that help me navigate my social world and I'm creating more. Want to make a policy of your own? Here are some places to start:
* food
* borrowing/lending
* sharing opinions
* products you won't buy
* fashion
* vocabulary
* social norms

Remember, resolutions might be just for January, but a policy can be instated/amended at any time!