Resolutions

7 minute speech given to Titan Toastmasters on 2 December 2002 for Competant Toastmaster (Speech #10) from Communication and Leadership Manual (Inspire Your Audience)

Holidays here. Soon time for New Year's resolutions. Standard resolutions popular after holidays that everyone breaks within a week: lose weight, exercise more. Different suggestion. Resolve to uproot a bad moral habit replace it with a good one.

All know that habits just repeated patterns of action, like brushing teeth after meals, coming to TM every Monday, and eating turkey on thanksgiving. Moral habit is thus just habit motivated by commitment to moral principle or virtue. Clear with examples. Person always looking to blame others for own failures has habit of excuse-making. But person accountable for own actions has habit of responsibility. Can have moral habits of kindness, friendliness, rationality, honesty, independence and so on. Having moral habit means that acting according to virtue default option. First idea that pops into head is virtue rather than vice. Moral habits make virtues second nature.

In TM, develop pretty cool habits. Learn to welcome strangers into group, to gently offer suggestions for improvement, and to gracefully absorb criticism.

But all of us have bad habits lurking. I tend to be lazy, to procrastinate. Few months ago, decided to overturn lazy habits. Decision not enough. Needed good time management techniques to shape habits. After many tries, settled on custom time tracking chart in Excel with all projects by week. Simple chart so helpful because focused attention on weekly goals as well as my progress – or lack thereof. Now *know* if not working hard enough. Work habits changing. Getting more done. Best part is that if good throughout week, then get to laze about on Sunday watching football.

But might wonder why habits so important. Two basic reasons. First, make moral decisions faster and easier. Don't spend time hemming and hawing about whether to tell white lie or truth. Just tell the truth. Much simpler. Habits leave us time to ponder really difficult choices, like which of football game to watch. Second reason habits important that make virtue pleasant. Notice benefits to virtue that not apparent to us before. Before TM, used to see criticism of speeches as necessary evil, painful duty. Now disappointed when no tough critique. In fact, much more open to any criticism about anything. See as essential to improvement, so take pleasure in what used to be painful. In sum, good habits make moral decisions quicker and easier and allow us to enjoy virtue. As result, can make big difference in daily life.

So when New Year's rolls around this year, instead of resolving to lose holiday pounds or run marathon in six months, might want to think about reforming a moral habit or two instead. But remember that resolve not enough, as have to think of particular ways to reform that habit, like my productiveness chart. And be sure to reward own good behavior. That way, habits more likely to stick.

So take a second helping of turkey at Christmas. Request an extra big slice of pie. Drink another glass of eggnog. You'll need the extra energy to figure out which moral habits you'll be reforming this year.

Mr Toastmaster.