Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? If so, how’s it going? For most of us, the answer falls somewhere between not so good and not at all.
After a lifetime of failing to keep all but one resolution, I consider these promises-to-self more aspirational than obligatory. This means if you falter, you don’t just quit trying. Less likely to get depressed that way.
Are you curious as to the one resolution I did keep? It’s something I started long ago, and it’s been life-changing in many ways. Here’s the key — instead of focusing on yourself, you concentrate on doing something to make your little corner of the world a better place.
One year, I got the bright idea to make it an assignment for my seventh graders. They were to write down a resolution and put it in a sealed envelope in their classroom folders. Anyone who participated got an A, even though I promised not to read or grade their submissions. We would open them on the last day of school when volunteers who shared resolutions and results got an A+. It was eye-opening amazing. From trying out for the baseball team to going to babysitting school to visiting Grandma in a nursing home every month, their stories made that last crazy day one of the best of the year.
Interested? Here’s how it goes. You resolve to do something you think you cannot do, something that challenges you physically, emotionally or mentally. (You get extra credit if it involves all three). Two requirements: it must be something you don’t do for yourself, and if you fail, nobody gets hurt. Meeting your goal wins you a gold medal; coming in close earns a silver, a small success nets the bronze. You can even award yourself a participation trophy for an honest attempt.
Over the years, I’ve been able to “win” all of the above. Lest you think I’m boasting here, I’m just trying to show how little things you do to benefit others can pay huge dividends, not to mention reveal things about yourself that you might never have otherwise uncovered. Be careful though. This process can transform your life in ways you’d never intended.
I gave myself a participation award one year for volunteering to sell food at a Post 44 Legion fisheree. Talk about a fish out of water. I came home with aching legs and frozen toes, but the Legion does such fantastic work that I was proud to be a tiny part of the cause. I also earned a participation trophy for joining Red Arrow Snowmobile and ATV Club. Jon and I don’t own snowmobiles or ride the trails, but our dues support those who do, so it’s all good.
During the wretched COVID closure, I took a bronze for organizing a Support Our Local Restaurants campaign. A small group of us organized to provide badly needed income to an “adopted” eatery by ordering take-out and buying gift certificates. OK, it wasn’t a totally altruistic gesture on my part. Some nights I didn’t have to cook, and the certificates made great no-shopping-required gifts.
My first silver came almost 20 years ago, earned by going way out of my comfort zone. Although I’m more the secretary type, I became president of the Wabeno Legion Auxiliary. Bless those Legion ladies who patiently put up with my many blunders, pitching in to help revitalize Unit 44. Special kudos to the wonderful women who helped me find leadership skills I didn’t know I possessed.
As president, I succeeded in resurrecting our sponsorship of delegates to Badger Girls State, a summer program where high school juniors spend a week at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh learning how representative government works. We have sponsored dozens of girls from Wabeno and Laona high schools who say it’s a life-altering experience. Karen Prueter is now president, but we still do BGS and many awesome things for veterans and the community.
I’m unabashedly sharing two of my gold medals. The first is for publishing eight books, four on the history of Townsend. The second is for leading the effort to restore Holt and Balcom Logging Camp in Lakewood. Some of the most fun times of my life were the Red Light Saloon shows staged to raise money for the camp. I had no idea I could write, direct and act in musical comedy. What a hoot that was.
Charles Dickens said people spend their lives toiling in their own little spheres. Sure, but each of us can make our sphere a better place. It starts with baby steps, but each step initiates another step, and before you know it, you’re in too deep to quit. So take the American Legion challenge. Be the one. You’ll never regret it.
Kathleen Marsh is a lifelong educator, writer, and community advocate. She has published eight books, four on the history of Townsend, where she and husband Jon are happily retired on the beautiful Townsend Flowage.
Categories
