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2012: A Year to Get in the Game and Make Good Plays

Let's start 2012 out on the right foot, the correct path, a good mindset, have the best intentions, etc etc, etc. No, I'm not going to talk to you about personal resolutions. I'm not going to give you five steps to healthier living or have you add blueberries to you daily food pyramid. Nor am I going to tell you to drink more water, eat less red meat, walk faster or sleep more. However, all those are excellent recommendations; I should try them myself.

What I am going to ask you to do is choose. Choices are what define us as individuals. This past Sunday as I sat in the football stadium in Cincinnati and watched The Ravens warm up against The Bengals (the Ravens won the game if you were curious) and everyone was scurrying about getting ready for the game to start, I thought how much life is really like a football game. I thought we have two options, just like the game I was getting ready to watch. We can either get in the game or stand on the sidelines. For me the view is much better being in the game. But...that is a choice we make.

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Being from Memphis, Tennessee, I'm going to use a line from an Elvis Presley song. We need to have "a little less conversation and little more action." Let's stop all the lip service about what we are going to do or need to do or are thinking about doing. For goodness sake let's just do something! I hope that "something" is not just going to have an impact on you and you alone.

2011 was not a good year for many folks. So if you are dead set and determined to do the New Year Resolution thing, then let me point you in the right direction of making good choices. It's time to take action. Let's stand up and be loud and be proud! For the most part we are all very resilient so let's put the resiliency to good use. Bounce back as best you can. Leave the negative feelings and bad emotions behind. Those emotions do nothing but bring us down and keep us living in the past. No one knows your heart but you. Look at yourself in the mirror and ask what is it that you would find fulfilling? Are you happy with your choices? Do you need to make better choices???

If in 2011 you were guilty of fudging, fibbing, padding the numbers, glossing over, falsifying, cheating or however you "choose" to put your spin on doing the wrong thing, then change directions. Now is as good a time as any to do the right thing. We all know the difference between right and wrong; we "choose" which one we do. Put your best foot forward and make a change. Then start with the foundation. Improve things in your own home, then on your street, then your block and then your city.

"Let your resolutions not be so self-centered."


Those all seem to be so expected, I'm going to eat healthier; I'm going to start exercising; blah blah blah. I'm 51 years old and I've heard 'em all and seen 'em all. Let's try something different this year. Let go of the bad; that is the only way you can make room for the good! My resolution for you is to put more purpose into your time in this New Year and that choice will change not only your life but the lives of others as well. I think you will find lasting results from that resolution and become an advocate for the homeless, the weak, the uneducated, the young, the abused, the ones not loved by anyone...then, ladies and gentlemen, you are now not only in the game, you are a game changer!

Happy New Year!

Photo credit by: ElvertBarnes

Don't forget to  follow me on Twitter @LeighAnneTuohy and play #TuohyTrivia on Tuesdays for a chance to win a $25 donation to the charity of your choice for answering the question correctly. Learn more about my family's charity at The Making It Happen Foundation.

Miss one of my previous posts? You can view them all HERE

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