The new year is a time of new beginning. So what naturally comes to us, "how would I like to change my life, or improve my life", is also part of our national culture.
It has evolved into a game, and certainly a time for many companies to exploit.
But I take New Year's and my birthday seriously as a new beginning. And I think others do too. It's a time of reflection on our life. What have we accomplished this past year? What would we like to accomplish this next year?
New Year's has almost become a joke with serious thought. "Oh, I'll go ahead and make a resolution, then like all the other times, I'll go ahead and break it". It's as though we don't take ourselves seriously.
We don't give ourselves that respect. When we make a decision, we should honor and respect it. If we do fail, certainly that's OK, for we did make an effort. And through failing, we learn how to do better the next time. If we run out of "Next Time", that's when we truly fail.
Most resolutions for me have been about improving my physical self. Not drinking, not smoking, or losing weight. Now the nice thing about failing at resolutions is that I can make the same one the next year. But what would happen if I was successful in my resolution?
I know for me the mental expenditure on wanting to accomplish something, like trying to quit smoking, can be actually greater than doing the act itself. I'm sure that well over a thousand times I thought or vowed to quit smoking. Finally, I quit on my 38th birthday. I often have said that I really didn't quit cigarettes, they quit me. I just got tired of smoking, and got tired of wanting to quit. I got tired of the whole battle and all that wasted inner dialogue, so I just quit. Never thought about it after that, and I haven't had a cigarette since.
Honor your desire for change. But also realize that you can be successful. Sometimes the fear is that you will be successful, so you find ways to fail. Allow yourself to succeed. It's really OK.
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