So, I wonder how many people still set resolutions for the new year. I stopped doing it myself several years ago. At the same time, I always catch myself reviewing my habits, goals, and the overall direction of my life when the new year rolls around. I’ve learned to be more humble about what I can decide ahead of time.
Many people are starting out 2013 with a bad case of the flu. The timing of such an illness becomes unforgettable. I remember vividly starting out 1990 with the flu. If you appreciate optimism in unusual places, keep in mind that if you start the year feeling miserable, it’s more likely that better times are ahead. Or not.
If you are a person that loves setting goals in the new year, then consider setting goals that are truly within your reach. If you must have resolutions, here are 10 suggestions:
- Swallow a live frog once per week. Mark Twain once said that if a person had to start each day eating a frog, then anything he or she did the rest of the day would seen fairly pleasant. Practically, eating a frog means tackling some distasteful task that really needs to be done, but which you persistently avoid. You know, cleaning that closet. Scanning all those papers and shredding or cleaning your garage.
- Stop multitasking so much, especially using your phone and other devices. Instead, look at people when you are speaking to them and when they are speaking to you.
- Try to do something kind without getting any credit for it.
- Speak to restaurant servers, gardeners, door-to-door sales people, and checkers as if they are human beings whose lives matter just as much as yours.
- Give a little money to someone who really needs it.
- Think about your legacy more often than you drink alcohol.
- Practice anger management techniques. Especially try to be kind when someone is hostile or behaves like a jerk.
- Confront your fears of telling the truth and your fears of learning something completely new to you.
- Pray.
- Take time to savor what is life-giving to you and to others. Take more photos of simple things whether or not you keep the photo and irregardless of whether you share the photo on facebook. I find that taking pictures causes me to notice what is good, beautiful, and interesting.