QOTD: Are You Resolved?

by Jack Baruth

Published: December 30th, 2016

You’ve heard a lot in the media about how 2016 has been Literally Hitler Terrible. Princess Leia died. Donald Trump was elected. The McRib only returned in selected markets.

I can’t sympathize with those people. 2016 worked out fine for me, and it was the first year since 2012 that I wasn’t hospitalized for some injury. That doesn’t mean that I’m not resolved to make 2017 even better. Have you made your resolutions yet? If not, I have a few suggestions:

Make this the year you learn more about driving. This applies equally to sixteen-year-olds on their learner’s permit and SCCA National Champions. Get out there and become better at your craft. Don’t be afraid to learn from other people and to take competent advice. Face your shortcomings head-on. Speaking personally, I’m resolved to be better at single qualifying laps this year, and I’m going to do it by increasing my aggression level and taking more detailed notice of visual markers on-track.

Make a bold automotive choice, if you can. Are you shopping for a car this year? Get something that’s not nine useless inches off the ground. Buy something interesting, something smart, something that isn’t just another blobular bullshit square-mobile. Stop using your annual Home Depot trip or your Thanksgiving-turkey-sized designer baby to justify a Toyota Sequoia or a Honda Pilot. Get a car.

Learn how to do something to your car. Change the oil. Put winter wheels on. Rebuild a Kugelfischer injection system. Whatever level you’re currently on, step it up a notch.

Help somebody else out. What do you have sitting in your garage or basement that could make a real difference in someone else’s life? Sell it cheap or give it away.

Finally:

Take a moment to understand someone else. Maybe you’re a Burligame-based merchant banker with a seven-figure annual income. Maybe you’re a dirt-poor Sunfire driver in Mississippi. No matter who you are, the next time you’re tempted to dismiss someone’s opinion because they match an unpleasant stereotype in your head, take a moment to consider that other person’s perspective. This goes double — no, triple — for those of you with contempt for everyday working Americans. Take a moment to consider the value of someone else’s opinion.

As for my actual list of New Year’s resolutions, it’s something like this, if you care:

Compete in fifteen wheel-to-wheel races in 2017.
Spend thirty days on-track.
Guide my son to wins and podiums in 206cc karting.
Return to skatepark riding. Get back up to the coping of a ten-foot halfpipe.
Listen to new music.
Improve as a guitarist and singer.
Read more diverse opinions and perspectives.
Do a hundred pushups in a row.
Clean the basement.

I’ll see you all in 2017!

#NewYears #QOTD #Racing #Resolutions

Jack Baruth

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2 of 142 comments

Koreancowboy on Jan 03, 2017

1. Make this the year you learn more about driving. I've been doing that on a regular basis, taking backroads and what not to learn more about what my cars can (and can not) do. 2. Make a bold automotive choice, if you can. I already have a RAV for daily duties and hauling crap, and a new CRV for family duty, so now I'm looking for a cash car with a manual. Honda is my top choice, although I'm open to other things. It has to have a back seat (because I want my son to experience the fun) and a manual (so I can teach my wife). It also has to be cheap to own/run/insure. 3. Learn how to do something to your car. There's a few more things that I'd like to do to the RAV, before I eventually sell it off. I've already laid down quite a bit of sound deadening, and I'll put more in once I have a new stereo system put in. I'm also going to have the wheels redone (or get used ones, I haven't decided yet). There's a few more bits and pieces that'll need to be replaced. 4. Help somebody else out. I do this a lot, but I want to up my volunteering game this year. Eventually, I'd like to start my own non-profit, which will be donating new shoes to the homeless (and other people). 5. Take a moment to understand someone else. I've been shying away from political arguments, and embracing discussions as a whole. Seeing things from someone else's perspective helps me round out my own opinions.

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DirtRoads on Jan 03, 2017

I resolve to try to ignore VoGo's comments in here, as they add nothing to the discussion but discord. I avoid miserable people who like to go around telling people how superior they are to all other people who don't think like them. Ta da! That's an easy one.

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