Resolution

I'm not really one for resolutions, but this year I may try something different.

This stems from a conversation that I had with my brother last week. In case you missed it, they are expecting. He asked what I thought about it and I said that generally the thing he had to remember is that nobody is ever as interested in the minutiae of your baby as you are.

It's not just babies, I said. It's true of your job, your holidays, your car, and actually pretty much anything you do in life.

People only want to hear the highlights (or lowlights). We want to know if there's something out of the ordinary. But a moment-by-moment account of every kick, every burp, every poo-filled nappy... Well, in the main, no one is as interested as you are. (The same goes for paper-heavy HR procedures, what you ate in the hotel restaurant, or whether you've roatated your tyres.)

I think I have a tendency to talk on about the things that interest me, but don't interest other people so much. So this year my resolution is to take my own advice - talk less and wait for the invitation to share. I'm sure I will bless some people by not talking so much!

I also had a funny conversation with a colleague last month. She is what I affectionately call a 'topper'. It would seem that whatever story you tell, she has a similar one that 'tops' it. We all know people like that, and she is by no means the worst person with that tendency that I have ever had to work with.

But I have that tendency too, which is why I notice it. So this year I plan to be less of a topper.

And a final resolution, because good things come in threes, is to do more writing. I may need to do this in earnest soon as I have had a tentative enquiry about the quasi-finished Zodiac Team novel I drafted several years ago. There is a long way to go on this before any definite plans are made, but I may have to rewrite chunks of it before the end of 2011.

Somehow I will have to find the time to write. If you feel charitable towards me, please wish me luck.

And, similarly, may good fortune (or divine providence if that's more your cup of tea) favour you in the coming year.