A new year is here again. That one time in our lives that we take a closer look at ourselves and see what we might want to do better. The dreaded Resolutions! You have all heard them. Many have broken them. I lost count how many resolutions I made and broken within the first month. You remember them. “This year I am going to lose weight.” “I want to be a better friend this year.” “I plan to volunteer at least once a week, no once a month.” “This year I am going to focus on (myself, school, my family, etc.) more.” Resolutions to give us a fresh start to the upcoming year.
THE TRAP
I gave up on resolutions years ago. I fell into the trap of making them and every time I broke them… Well, I found that I was getting harder on myself each time, wanting that fresh outlook in life so badly. Resolutions to me, can give a person a false sense of hope. Don’t get me wrong. If you are one of the very few that are able to successfully keep a resolution all year long, FANTASTIC! You are one of 8% of people that are able to actually stick to your goals. University of Scranton conducted a study and found a good 80% of us, don’t make it past mid-February. Not to mention, 55% of all resolutions are health-related to fitness.
THE HOPE
Resolutions give a sense of hope that the new year will be better than the last. But, are these the only ways that the year will outshine? A sense of hope that if I lost weight my life would be better? Well, maybe. I probably would be healthier. Happier, maybe or maybe not. But, better? I cannot answer that one directly. What if I exert myself into exercise and I hurt myself? I could also take it too far into the extreme and then my life is no longer healthy. My fresh start could turn out to be just another battle.
IMPROVEMENTS
So, this year I am giving myself a different “fresh start” to my new year. I know what I can control and what I cannot. Mainly, I can control my own life, most of the time. I don’t want to “change” any part of my life. To change, tells me that there is something wrong. No, I want to “improve” a part of my life. I start by looking at my life to see if there is something small that can be improved on. If I want to ultimately be healthier, maybe I will improve by learning to cook/make my own meals. Take a class in cooking and possibly discover new foods I didn’t know about that could taste amazing.
If I want to improve my relationships with family and friends, maybe offering an hour to meet somewhere just to catch up. Or even invite a friend or family member to that cooking class you just signed up for. If I want to improve my work life, there are many ways. I could look at learning something new. I may even look at how much time I spend on work and not on my family. Maybe make some adjustments in my time away from home.
A FRESH START
A new year can be a means of a fresh start to our normal crazy worlds. So many of us could use a fresh start. Past years can be difficult. Filled with heartache, pain, loss. This is too much for one person to hold onto. A new year gives us a chance to start fresh with what we feel is a clean slate. A chance to build on the love, friendship, happiness, respect not only of others, but the most important person in your life. You. Yourself respect. Your own happiness. The love you have of yourself. A fresh start to hopefully wipe away darkness and sorrow from your world and build on the light and love your essence provides to you.
With great warmth,
