Making new year’s resolutions. . .Why? Why not?
Most of us have made resolutions over the years. And probably we have broken them before the first week of the new year had even passed. If that’s troubling to you, take heart. It’s common. Remake the resolution. And then try again to follow through. Perfection is not our goal. Improvement is. There isn’t a single one of us who can’t do a better job in regard to a resolution if we put our mind to it. Giving ourselves the freedom to try again, to recommit to what ever our goal was, is a sign of emotional maturity.
Goals give our lives purpose and direction. We need both. Floundering is common to many of us. Perhaps we still flounder more than we live purposefully. But even making a stab at defining our purpose gets us moving. That’s half the battle. I can well remember looking at my “in-box” in years past and feeling utterly overwhelmed by the number of things that needed my attention every morning. I can also remember that the antidote to that initial feeling of hopelessness was to pick up the piece of paper on top and tackling whatever it was. My decision to look at the first “need” was what broke the damn of resistance. One by one the rest of the “needs” were handled.
Resolutions are much like this. We define them and then we begin the process of following through. Or not. But like with an in-box of work, if we don’t make a stab at one of the resolutions early in the year, we are not likely to follow-up with any of them as the year proceeds. That’s not a crisis though. We make resolutions for ourselves. Not for others, so if we don’t accomplish them, no one else is injured. Unfortunately, we may not feel very good about ourselves though if we fail to follow through.
Let’s take a quick inventory of the past few years. Did you make resolutions? Did you accomplish them? Did you beat yourself up if you didn’t tackle them? Remember, a resolution points us in a direction we claim to want to move in. It’s nothing more than that. It doesn’t define us for all time if we create some and then ignore them. It only defines us if we allow it to. Before the close of this day, define a goal or a resolution that you really want to pursue. Maybe you have already done so, in fact. If that’s the case, what has your progress been? Are you satisfied with it? If not, what will make tomorrow different? Decide that today and begin again tomorrow. You will feel good when you can chart some progress. I know. I speak from experience.
