“Happy New Year!” Shouted the entire world with Dick Clark as the ball dropped in Time Square and 2011 was ushered in with gusto. The New Year is known for its resolutions. Resolutions are created to change, to break old habits and to create new habits. Basically, the purpose of a resolution is to start the New Year as a new you.
Yet, so often, after the first week or possibly even the first month, the excitement of the New Year has slipped away and your Resolution leaves you frustrated. Why must we start our new year with unrealistic expectations? Or tedious to-do lists? Why not set New Year’s Resolutions for things that we love, but in the past have been too busy, too tired or too stressed to actually go out and do? For example, yesterday I took the time to visit my daughter, take her to Starbucks, where I got my delicious Sugar Free Soy Vanilla Latte and sit on a bench looking over the ocean, all at the same time! I love my daughter, I love Starbucks and I love the beach, yet without making all of those things a priority the year 2011 will slip on by with all the usual hustle and bustle.
What do you love? Set your New Year’s Resolution on things you love to do. It could be volunteering with a charity you feel connected with. It could be joining your local senior center and participating in weekly bingo. You could read that book you’ve always wanted but never seemed to find the time. Get creative with your New Year and make those things a priority for 2011. Let’s make 2011 a year we keep our Resolutions.
