Your Weekly Antics, Quitters Day a Week Late Edition 1-17-2025

Well kids, I hope you've had a good week, survived the full moon and are not too worse for the wear from the lingering effects of said full moon. It was a doozy. It looked gorgeous with its effervescent luminary glow, but I hope you didn't let it fool you - it was messing with you. With that said, let's hope you didn't get yourselves into too much trouble as a result of once again not heeding my good advice and falling victim to all that the full moon brings. Here's what I've got...

1. Did you know that last Friday, January 10th was Quitter's Day? Well, it was. Quitter's day is a thing people, and again, The Antics have failed you. A more dedicated, socially conscious writer of nonsense and useless information would have warned you prior to the establishment of your well thought out plan of self-improvement that statistically and historically speaking, all those with good intentioned New Years resolutions would be throwing them out like last week's milk by the second Friday in January. If you're like me and don't bother with that nonsense of working towards self-improvement, you wouldn't now be feeling bad that you've let yourself down. Get it together people, the world's hard enough. Quit setting yourself up for failure and disappointment, that's the quitting I can support and get behind.

2. There is varied research and studies out there indicating the percentage of people who give up on their resolutions by Quitter's Day. The research, most notably gathered by companies studying fitness app usage, indicate that about 80% of you well intentioned do - Gooders give up on self-improvement by this second day in January. How do we combat this? By setting your goals low people, give yourself something attainable and quit stressing yourselves out. (see what I did there?)

   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. For next year perhaps those of you beating yourselves up about not making it past Quitter's Day with your over ambitious resolutions can fine tune them a bit...pick what it is you'd like to improve and work on and set a small goal, to get yourselves just one day past Quitter's Day. If you continue your new and improved self to the second Saturday of January of next year, that gets you one day past Quitter's Day which in my opinion makes you a screaming success.

4. Who knew there was so much stuff out there about failed attempts of New Year's resolutions and the effects they have on people. According to Forbes.com, Quitter's Day also correlates to what is referred to as "false hope syndrome," according to productivity experts. false hope syndrome "leads to setting unrealistic goals that result in frustration and eventual abandonment." Productivity experts also state their research indicates that only about 8% of those making resolutions make it past a month and return to their old tried and true bad habits. I don't see that as giving up, I call that consistency...another attribute society is sorely lacking.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

5. Damn that's depressing...I'm going back to my original stance. Screw resolutions all together. We all have enough to worry about without having to hold ourselves to a higher standard and change our ways. Mediocre is the way to go. Perhaps we should all embrace our faults. Take the, what you see is what you get approach. Again, some may see this as setting your sites low, I see it as keeping things real. Sometimes the old dog doesn't need new tricks and just needs to learn to manage and go about her business with what she's got.

6. Here's a goal I'm setting for myself right now. I will never become or strive to become a Productivity Expert. That goes against the very core of my beliefs which are to strive towards mediocrity and maintain the status quo.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   7. What I would like to see improvement upon however is common decency which society is sorely lacking. If you're in line at the store or in the waiting room of a doctor's office do everyone around you a favor and get off your phone. No one cares about your business and that she said you said he said - lady, my head already hurts, that's why I'm sitting here. And the cashier who is trying to wait on some of these people don't get paid enough to wait for you to fumble around finding your money because you're too preoccupied trying to hold your phone with your shoulder. Here's an idea...go to the sell check-out line next time, you can take all the time you want messing around. The rest of us have places to be.

   
   
   
   
   
   

8. I was out at Sweet's - n - Java in Holden treating myself to a fabulous large, hot, caramel latte with whole milk, because I was feeling extra generous and crazy and quit trying to lessen my caffeine intake - let’s be honest, that wasn’t going to benefit anyone. I found myself in line behind a lovely elderly woman. Now immediately one would think, of course I was. This lady was probably about 85 years old, 4 feet tall and 90 lbs soaking wet. I was wearing my favorite sweatshirt with the Worcester PD emblem on it that my favorite CIT/Quality of Life guy gave me, and she quickly turned and said to me, "there are three professions that I feel deserve a fast track to the almighty when their time comes....firefighters, police and nurses. You're all fabulous, fabulous people." I agreed with her that it takes a special person to work in any one of those three professions and told her however that I am not any one of them, but instead am a social worker. Her response was "oh, that's too bad" while quickly turning herself around in line and that was that. Little did she know my specialty is geriatrics and ultimately, I had just then been rejected by my people.

   
   

9. Murder documentaries and podcasts. A fun fact that's completely off topic, not that we ever stay on any kind of topic here at The Antics...it was brought to my attention that pod casts have taken the place of reading books amongst the younger generation. No one wants to read anymore when they can submerge themselves in a juicy podcast, particularly one that focuses on unsolved murders. Some have even reported that a good murder podcast helps them fall asleep at night. Just a bit concerning of you ask me…

10. For the first time ever in my history of doing the work of the people I pulled up to a house and decided better of it and turned right around and drove away. I chose to embrace the lingering effects of Quitter's Day from last week determining it would not be in my best interest to tempt fate while out in one of our surrounding towns that is notorious for not having cell service...not the place I wanted to be when and if I went missing. I was not in the mood to fall through a porch and be left to freeze or be eaten by woodland creatures should no one notice I didn’t return from my ride to the outskirts of the Woo - or be locked in a basement. No one's got time for that and I feel strongly that there is no need for me to be featured in one of these much loved murder podcasts Joe, Rg and Meri were talking about -Weirdo’s

    Exhibit 1, welcome sign hung up at the house I attempted to visit. ✌️No need to be featured in one of those murder podcasts these kids rave about.

And last but not least...we are entering a long weekend. Stay warm and don't set your sights too high. Hunker down and hibernate. We have all spring to be productive.

Have a great weekend!