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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Public meetings for Jan. 5-9, 2014 Head first 5 Things to do This Week Get Up & Go: Jan. 4 Drought-plagued reservoirs need the white stuff to recover Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Sheriff's deputies arrest two after pursuit on Table Rock Road Laser strike on jet entering Medford delays flight Emergency services VIDEO: Wrap Up, week of Jan. 2 Politics and Elections Councilman stirs online dust-up with anti-marijuana post State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Time running out for O&C funds GMO vote recount still shows little change Education Ashland schools to implement chickenpox precautions Traveling artist sets the stage for Ruch School amphitheater Ruch school class focuses on the natural environment Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Logos may offer students 'fifth year' at RCC or SOU Environment Monument expansion expected to increase tourism, protect resources Biologist resigns over LNG reporting failure Bird flu discovered in Winston backyard flock Jackson County holds back on enforcing GMO ban for now No fish, no funding for problem dams State News Seabird die-off puzzles scientists Oregon fans get married Rose Bowl parking lot Earthquake off coast shakes Humboldt County Stranded sea turtle recovers at Oregon aquarium Oregon minimum wage rises to $9.25 Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Obituaries Philip Richard Lind Howard S. LaMere Carl Grant Kirkpatrick James Carl Hudson Cyriel Howard DeRoo Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable In memoriam: 2014’s notable deaths Looking back: Do you remember 2014’s biggest stories? Sports Latest Stories Millsap-led Hawks deal Blazers loss Big rally gives SOU men road triumph Nuggets end skid as behind Lawson Comets pick up MWL victory Setzer, Comets cruise in league opener Varsity 541 College Sports Big rally gives SOU men road triumph No. 13 Beavers beat cold-shooting UCLA Young At Arc Rookie sparks Seton Hall to another big upset Florida rides big plays to 28-20 win over East Carolina Pro Sports Millsap-led Hawks deal Blazers loss Nuggets end skid as behind Lawson Flacco leads Ravens to uspet of Steelers Panthers' defense overwhelms Cardinals Young QBs lead Colts, Bengals today Community Sports Business Latest Stories Irrigation system upgrade gets a forum Ride & Drive: 2015 Honda Crosstour Positive Steps Rising prices bear fruit for local pear growers Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Real Estate News Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Rental owners group reports 2.48 percent vacancy rate People In Business Transportation Falling gas prices help spur travel at Medford airport Agriculture Rising prices bear fruit for local pear growers K-BAR ignites agriculture boom beneath Table Rocks Opinion Latest Our View: Waiting a little longer for the bus Letters to the Editor, Jan. 4 Eugene Robinson: Economic facts get in the way Guest Opinion: Get the best deal on pipeline Guest Opinion: Say yes to clean energy jobs, no to the LNG project Editorials Our View: Waiting a little longer for the bus Other Views: Oregon's GMO battle is far from over Our View: Meeting in the middle keeps a mill open Our View: Help clear the air for the new year Our View: Caves expansion worth the wait Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Jan. 4 Letters to the Editor. Jan. 2 Letters to the Editor, Jan. 1 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 31 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 30 Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Get the best deal on pipeline Guest Opinion: Say yes to clean energy jobs, no to the LNG project Guest Opinion: Loved one chose death with dignity in Oregon Guest Opinion: Forest thinning means water for the future Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote Lifestyle Latest stories Expert offers advice on quake preparedness Becoming terminal all by myself Community blog: Get the New Year off to a Great Start Hobart Bluff offers top-notch views Fishing report: Jan. 2, 2015 Food Community blog: Ring in new flavors with year's last appetizers Food for Thought: Tips for cooking when you have food allergies Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Kitchen Call: The comfort of creamy soups Community blog: Baking contest finalists combine cookies, candies Home and Garden Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Dear Monty: Can a rookie real estate agent be a good choice? Bathtub or shower: What’s best for you? Home Help: Home safety tips for a safe and happy winter season How NOT to install drywall Health Community blog: We Don't Have To Conspire Against Good Health HealthStyle: New year, new you Health Watch: Build up your glutes in the off-season Dr. Jeff Hersh: What's a monoclonal antibody? Dr. Murray Feingold: Have a happy and stress-free holiday Hiking Biking Faith Churches start new year with messages of hope (No heading) Churches, synagogs host seasonal events Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Milestones and Achievements Little Yaretzi is county's first baby of 2015 Local landowners see no public good in proposed pipeline Pear Blossom queen has open heart surgery Hundreds enjoy Christmas dinner, gifts at St. Vincent de Paul SinceYou Asked: SBA would work with Mt. Ashland Ski Area about loan Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Live Music in Local Clubs Generation Jones plays Paddy Brannan's Pete Herzog and Dennis Walker play 2Hawk Winery Paul Turnipseed Trio at Belle Fiore Jefferson State Choral Coalition presents 'Reason for the Season' Theater Camelot's 'Fiddler' is a charmer ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Meet the real Jacob Marley This Nutcracker ballet will have a superhero twist Plumbing the depths of meaning Music Live Music in Local Clubs Generation Jones plays Paddy Brannan's Pete Herzog and Dennis Walker play 2Hawk Winery Paul Turnipseed Trio at Belle Fiore Jefferson State Choral Coalition presents 'Reason for the Season' Community Events New Schneider Museum exhibits highlight First Friday Celebrate winter solstice with the Bad Film Society Tomaseen Foley's "A Celtic Christmas" returns to the Craterian Theater Stefan Baumann and Eugene Bennett highlight Third Fridays Dancing People Company celebrates the solstice Dining Jackson Creek Pizza Co. is a good downtown haunt Dobra Tea menu offers hundreds of brews Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Coffee shops roll out holiday-inspired drinks Over Easy serves 'pop-up' brunch Sundays Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Our View: Waiting a little longer for the bus ... Drought-plagued reservoirs need the white stuff to recover ... Guest Opinion: Get the best deal on pipeline ... Our View: Waiting a little longer for the bus ... Drought-plagued reservoirs need the white stuff to recover ... Guest Opinion: Get the best deal on pipeline ... It Is What It Is: For the new year, resolve not to resolve Comment By Lisa Sugarman More Content Now MailTribune.com By Lisa Sugarman More Content Now Posted Dec. 29, 2014 @ 9:02 am Updated Dec 29, 2014 at 9:17 AM By Lisa Sugarman More Content Now Posted Dec. 29, 2014 @ 9:02 am Updated Dec 29, 2014 at 9:17 AM » Social News The New Year is intimidating as hell for a lot of people. That’s just the simple truth. And I think that’s because most people have a completely irrational side that distorts otherwise joyous celebrations — like New Year’s and the resolutions that go along with it — and makes them big and scary. See, New Year’s Eve is out there, looming, for 364 days, all big and fresh and untainted, with this shimmery halo of potential hovering over it. And personally, I think that scares the ever-loving crap out of a lot of people. That’s, I think, because so many people have this expectation that whatever they tried and failed to accomplish throughout the year, leading up to Dec. 31, can be completely wiped away with an iron-clad resolution. We assume that because our intentions for New Year’s are so genuine that all the promises we make will endure. Uh, wrong. The sad fact is, they almost never do. And that’s not me talking, that’s statistical data talking. My pal Dan Diamond, a contributing writer with Forbes (OK, he’s not my real pal), says that out of the more than forty percent of people who actually make New Year’s resolutions, only a tiny sliver of them, roughly 8 percent, actually keep them. Ouch. But I wonder if anyone’s ever stopped to consider that the majority of New Year’s resolutions are made under the influence of copious amounts of champagne and other holiday-type spirits. And if they’re not declared that way, then they’re probably made in some kind of food-induced state of consciousness. People have great intentions, I truly believe that. But we just put too much pressure on ourselves to pull it all together for the New Year. And because of that, I think that New Year’s Eve has become such an iconic symbol for cleaning the slate that people get nervous that they can’t follow through. I honestly think that what makes the New Year so nerve-racking is that it’s both the finish line and the starting line all wrapped into one climactic moment. It’s become the marker that so many people use when they decide to change everything. It’s like there’s this universal feeling that people have about it that gives it an almost-magical quality. That no matter how far we stray from being the perfect people we all desperately want to be, we always have New Year’s Eve as a guaranteed Mulligan that we can cash in — like an automatic do-over. The thing is, I think I’ve figured out why the success rate for New Year’s resolutions is so pitiful. I’m convinced it’s due entirely to the Eggs-in-One-Basket Theory, which the majority of people follow around this time of year. When we put all of our eggs in one basket — like most people tend to do with resolutions — only two things are ever likely to happen: A., the basket is unliftable because it’s filled with so many eggs; or B., you ultimately get the basket briefly off the ground but then you stumble under the weight of it, trip, and fall directly on top of the basket, squishing every last one of the eggs, leaving you eggless and smelling absolutely foul. So it’s based entirely on this theory that I think we need a new plan. This year, I think we should try something completely radical and do absolutely nothing when the ball drops. Like, nothing. No planning, no resolving, no anticipating. Let’s all just be in the moment and try enjoying that. No pressure, no expectations. I think we should watch all the retrospectives on CNN and E! Entertainment TV and Dateline and just enjoy them. After that, we maybe take a minute to think about what was good and right for us during the last year. Then I think we should whip out some Prosecco and make Giada’s pink grapefruit and thyme bellinis — they’re absolutely delicious and are guaranteed to put you in just the right kind of bubbly mood. Then we watch the New Year come and go. We enjoy it for what it is and what it was. And then, when all the pressure is off, like on a Tuesday in early February around 4:30 p.m., when no one’s looking, we sit down and decide what we want out of ourselves for the New Year. And that’s when we commit. Without any liquor or sugary carbs or stress to distort our thinking, we pick a few manageable things we’re confident we can work toward changing and then have at it. No pressure, no fanfare. Just straight-up reasonable goals. And that’s how we get it done. Oh yeah, that, and we remember that some kind of failure is always an option, because that’s life. Baby steps, people. Baby steps. Lisa Sugarman lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Read and discuss all her columns at itiswhatitiscolumn.wordpress.com. She is also the author of “LIFE: It Is What It Is,” available on Amazon.com. By Lisa Sugarman More Content Now MailTribune.com By Lisa Sugarman More Content Now Posted Dec. 29, 2014 @ 9:02 am Updated Dec 29, 2014 at 9:17 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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