Podcast 1 Resolutions

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First off, I would like to introduce myself. I am Missy from southern California. Please feel free to introduce yourselves to me and to everybody else in the community section of our website. This is a place where you can express almost anything. Practicing written English is also very important for acquiring the language. As you all may already know, written English and spoken English are pretty different. I have had many friends, who are learning English; tell me that they feel as if they have to learn two things. This is very true. English is not a very phonetic language. But, the more you practice the language, the easier it will be for you to recognize the little sounds that seemed impossible to understand at first. Listening to a native speaker, such as myself, is a great way to improve on your listening and speaking abilities. We are also hoping to transcribe a section of the podcast so you may read it as it is spoken. Although, if it is possible, listen to it first. Try to understand as much as you can, and then try to use the words after if you need to look at something that you have missed.

Well, being that it is a start of a new year, the year 2008, we would like to talk about resolutions. People are always making resolutions at the beginning of a new year. It is sad to say that even though we make these resolutions, most of us do not follow through with them. We go back to our old habits. They say that humans are also creatures of habit. Each year I hear people say, “This year I plan to stop smoking,” or “This year I want to save more money,” or “This year I want to lose ten pounds.” These are all great resolutions to make, don’t get me wrong, but why wait until the beginning of a new year to make these decisions?

If a person really wants to quit smoking, why don’t they do it in October? If a person really wants to save more money, then why don’t they start with their next paycheck? If a person really wants to lose ten pounds, then why don’t they purchase a membership to a gym? As they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. People will always go back to what they are used to.

I met one man who told me that he had promised himself, when the New Year came last year, that he would go to the gym, starting that week, and lose weight for that year. He got off to a great start and he went to the gym 4 times per week for the first month. The following month he started to miss a time every week or two. The next month he started making excuses as to why he couldn’t go such as I am too tired, or I have a cold and I don’t feel like going. The following month he realized that he was not going to the gym at all. A few weeks later, he decided to return to the gym, but since he hadn’t been steady about going, it was harder for him to go since he had lost some of his endurance. He started to feel more frustrated, especially since he had only lost 4 pounds during this time period. His frustration eventually led to anger and then to a bit of depression. He told me that he wished that he had never made the resolution to go to the gym because when one makes a resolution, they are putting so much of a burden on their shoulders. Now they feel obligated to do it and feel like a failure when they are unable to follow through.

During September, this same man decided not to make a resolution, but instead to just start to go to the gym again. He started a little at a time and started to build back his endurance again. He started to go to the gym more frequently, without binding himself to a schedule. He told me that he felt a lot less pressure and stress. He succeeded this time, and just this month, he told me that he had already lost 8 pounds more. Wow! He was so amazed and told me that he will continue going to the gym because now he actually likes it.

Often times it is not a good idea to bind ourselves to obligations. It is better to do something because we have a motivation and a desire to do it.

I have another friend who I was talking with about new years resolutions. I was explaining that I think that they are a waste of time and not even worth our energy to think about. She told me that for her, she felt the same. She told me that every time she tries to make a resolution, she fails. She said that it is not good on her self-esteem.

So, when the clock hits midnight on New Years Eve, maybe it is better just to say “CHEERS!” instead of promising yourself an empty promise that you cannot fulfill. What do you think?

Well, if you have already made a resolution, don’t be too hard on yourself; you always have the rest of the year to work on it. They say that a dog always returns to his vomit. I know this may sound a bit graphic but it implies that a dog will always go back to what it has left behind. This is very true about the human race. We develop habits and are unable to break them, sometimes even if we really want to.

Last year, in 2007, I broke one of the hardest habits to break. Well, it was for me. You see, I was addicted to soda, Pepsi or Coke, to be exact……well, and sometimes Dr. Pepper. I drank sodas all of my life and I had never steered clear of them. They were actually in control of me, I know, that doesn’t seem possible, but it actually was and I didn’t go and make any resolution in order to change my habit.

What happened was this: One day, I went to the gym, I had just joined the gym two weeks before that time and I was busting out every effort I could to lose some weight. I went on the stationary bike and rode for about 30 minutes and had burned 55 calories and then I went to another machine that is like a ski-simulation machine. I worked on that for 45 minutes and burned 120 calories. Wow, it was a tough workout and I had a hard time to continue. I was dripping sweat from my face and body. I decided to add the total of the calories that I had burned and it was 175 calories. I felt like that was so good. My body felt good and I was ready to go home.

When I arrived home I was dying of thirst. I went to the refrigerator and got a Coke. I opened it and took a couple of sips. I was busy on the computer at this time and looked over at my soda again. An area of the soda caught my eye. The part where it says calories read: calories – 150. What???? I thought that was impossible. I just went to the gym and I worked out for so long to burn 175 calories and now here I am drinking practically all of them back in one…one can of soda. It was from there that I decided to cut down on my soda intake. Before, I was drinking approximately 3 sodas per day, but now I often have none. I do not have soda in my house and I will only drink them if I go out to eat. I figured that it is best not to deprive myself of them completely. I have substituted my sodas with diet tea and flavored water. These either have 0 or a very few calories.

Well, my point is, the New Year was not the thing that had sparked my ambition to change, but it was something that had occurred to me and caused me to want to change. To be able to change, there must be a desire! I believe that New Years resolutions can be good if you actually have a motive to do it. But otherwise, try to commit yourself to doing the thing at any time of the year. It is good for us to try to make better habits and not go back to our old and unhealthy ways.

Well, we have talked a lot today and there are a few words or phrases that you may have thought were complicated or were hard for you to understand. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. This is an idiom that means that a person will always do the same thing. They are so used to the way that they live or the habits that they have, that often times, are unable to change, even if they want to. When I was talking about the man who wanted to lose weight I said “but since he hadn’t been steady about going,” this means that he was not going regularly or in any particular pattern. Also, I said “putting so much of a burden on their shoulders” this means that they have had a lot of responsibility or stress from the thing that they have committed to. Another phrase “sparked my ambition” means that it was something that started to motivate me.

We hope that these explanations can help better your understanding of the text today. We thank you for your time with us today at www.blabbinit.com . Again, this is Missy and don’t forget to check out the rest of our site. Register as a member and enjoy all of the site benefits for free! Thank you for listening to Blabbinit, the chattering world of English. Bye.