New Year’s Revolution

It’s probably unfair to say that all meteorologist’s pants are on fire. I mean, they go to school for years to learn the science. They stay up all hours of the day and night watching the weather patterns and subjecting themselves to the elements--all in the name of quality news broadcasting--only to make predictions that are quite often as wrong as wearing two different shoes. Even when they tell us the exact temperature easily measured via thermometer, they have to follow it up with the ‘real feel’—yes, it’s -4 degrees outside, but it really feels like -20! They have all this uber-expensive, high-powered equipment, a litany of historical and current data, and years of experience all behind…getting it wrong. “OR”, as my husband would say with confidence as his intro to disagreeing, perhaps they are simply in cahoots with the milk, bread, and egg producers of the world.  As far as I know, there’s never been a snowstorm in Indiana history that hasn’t seen the shelves emptied for what is, apparently, a French Toast-making Emergency!

The truth is, it’s really not the fault of our favorite weather forecasters. Bob Gregory, although retired, will always be my favorite. As a kid, he’d tell us when our school was closed. I loved him for that! The truth of the matter is, Mother Nature’s emotional state is pretty bitter. This must be true because comedian Heather Land just told me so. Have you heard of Heather—the “I ain’t doin’ it” gal? She’s a 60-second hoot every time she videotapes herself. First off, she uses a quirky computer filter that makes her eyes look huge and her mouth as wide as your screen. The disproportion is laughable… Every. Single. Time. But then she goes on to tell you exactly what she ain’t doin’. To say that she’s relatable would be an understatement. For example, she once taught us all we really need to know about temperamental Mother Nature. “Listen here, Mother Nature, if the temperature in my neck of the woods is any indication of your current emotional state, I’m gonna go on and say it…you’re bitter!” Now, come on, who hasn’t thought that before—am I right? And, her formula always ends with words of wisdom, that most of us would agree on, like this: “Cause look here, girl. I would just about rather lay naked on the equator than to sit another dad-gum minute in this cold weather. Nuh-uh, I ain’t doin’ it.” She’s got a million of ‘em. Well, maybe not a million, but buckets of hilarity all poured into 6o-second smoke breaks for all us non-smokers, or quitters out there who are still on track in kicking this unhealthy habit as your recent New Year’s Resolution.  

Did you make one? A New Year’s Resolution? Many of us do. Many of us have already failed by this week in January. In fact, International Quitter’s Day is noted as January 12^th. We just can’t hang for more than two weeks. That’s sad. In this immediate-gratification world we live in, with all the high-tech toys and low-patience people, we often quit lots of things that inconvenience us. But, when it comes to breaking bad habits, we’re not quality quitters.

I was actually thinking about this as I was listening to Darius Rucker belt out this song where he sings, “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” Rucker’s video depicts some of life’s best first times, like dates and proposals and babies. It’ll bring back fond memories for most of us, but it should be a wake-up call for all of us. Honestly, when was the last time you did something for the first time? It’s hard to recall, isn’t it? How could you twist this concept into making your 2024 marketing and communications goals something to look forward to instead of dread? Proactively starting things instead of reactively stopping things? Turn your New Year’s Resolutions into New Year’s Revolutions! Since Merriam-Webster defines revolution as “a sudden, radical, or complete change”, I think this word play works!  

Can one letter really make that much of a difference? Let’s see. You could stop doing things because you’ve always done them that way and try something new. You could stop dreading Monday mornings because you have no marketing plan and develop an intentional way of communicating with donors. You could stop being a Schleprock and start bringing some humor and joy into your work--put some Wow into your ‘Wowzie, Wowzie, Woo, Woo!’. You could start putting marketing on your Board agenda and prove to board members through your marketing outcomes that those budgeted dollars are a quality investment.

I don’t know, but it seems like one letter can make a difference. So can one person. And, that person is you. The reality is that your community can be markedly different 10 years from now…or exactly the same. (Take a second to let that idea marinate.) Sadly, as with most New Year’s Resolutions, not all people will step up and make a proactive start instead of reactive stop. Some will just sit on their duffs, gritching on social media or to their co-workers and blaming everyone else for all that is wrong with the world--or the country or the county or the city. But this one thing I know for sure--I ain’t doin’ it.

Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily,

Dawn
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dawn brown creative, llc.