problems with easy solutions

one of the things i love about watching basketball is watching people doing something they do really well. getting to watch michael jordan, john stockton, kevin durant, and jimmer fredette is beautiful, and watching for potential talent in others is part of that fun. people with real talent are a pleasure to watch in any capacity.


one thing that i try to remind myself of, though, is this: no one is that good at everything. those basketball players are not that good at cooking, probably, or designing furniture, or (dare i say it) building relationships. (neither am i, and i'm not even good at basketball to make up for it. what a bummer.) people are blessed with talents, yes, but not everyone has every talent, and life is more interesting because of that.


every year, when i'm thinking about new year's resolutions, i forget that important principle. (i might start reading this article by elder holland every new year's eve, to help myself have some perspective.) usually, my resolutions end up one of two ways - i make too many, or none at all. i'm only too aware of the things i am bad at - the things that need improving. and depending on my frame of mind on january first, either i get ambitious about fixing everything and make a billion resolutions, or i get discouraged thinking about everything that needs fixing and i give up before i start.

this year started out like the first case - too many. (funny though, because i thought to myself "i'm going to pare down this year and just make a couple." but my list kept growing right before my eyes. it had a life of it's own...) my dad asked me on saturday what my resolutions were, and i could only remember two: practice the piano 4 times a week and be less selfish. good, not great.


so i decided yesterday to change course, to be more like a basketball player and focus on doing one thing really well. so my new new year's resolution (or birthday resolution, since the beginning of the year is old news by now) this year is to be more attentive. i keep finding myself distracted - i feel like my attention span is getting shorter as i get older (isn't that the opposite of what is supposed to happen?) and i am not being fair to most people or things that cross my path. i could stand to be a better friend, a better listener, less selfish and focused on me, and less distracted by outside influences.


the bonus to this is - if i do this well, all of the areas of my life that i want to improve will improve. i will be better at studying my scriptures and saying my prayers, more thoughtful and gracious towards my family and friends, a better worker, a better member of my ward, a better follower of my Savior. (i keep thinking of this talk by president uchtdorf.)

a few side notes - i'm just making all this basketball junk up. it's what i think it would be like, as a pretty outside observer. i've only been a player once in my life (competitively, in young womens. driveway doesn't count) and a coach once in my life (also young womens. yelling from my couch definitely doesn't count, even if i do have very good suggestions.) and i've never been kicked out of a game. also, this "one resolution" thing feels a teeny bit like cheating. does it qualify as one if i'm planning on it improving multiple aspects of my life?