Like I said in previous post, I don't do "resolutions" anymore. Resolutions are promises I used to make, usually to better myself in some way. This was a common one: "I'm going to go on a diet and lose 20lbs this year." Twelve months later, I was the same weight or heavier and would make the same resolution, "but this time I really mean it!"
Other resolutions I would make: "I'm going to read more books." "I'm going to volunteer." "I'm going to be a nicer, more thoughtful person." "I'm going to respond to emails in a more timely fashion." All fine sentiments but c'mon. We are who we are and we rarely change our personalities and habits due to our own volition. It's not impossible, but I think more often, we change because of life events that cause us to change, or sometimes because we are inspired/affected by someone else's life event.
One of my favorite quotes from Paulo Coelho's THE ALCHEMIST: “When something evolves, everything around that thing evolves as well.”
I am a different woman now than I was when my husband was alive, less because I set out to be this way, more because the experience of loving, caregiving, losing and grieving him has caused me to learn, grow and mature.
Do I want to lose weight, read more, be a nicer, more thoughtful person and faster on email? Hell yes! But those are lifelong issues, in the background to everything else, not the focus.
All that to say... I do think of the year as a clean slate of sorts in terms of goals, and I do believe there is power in writing them down.
Last year I wrote down (among other things): "Learn how to ride a motorcycle" "Baby and/or dog" "Blog"
I did those things, opting for dog instead of baby (for now).
This year I'm writing down the following: "Get paid to write" "Get published" "More space" (meaning more physical space to live and work in)
And that's it.
I hope to report back next year and say, "I did those things too."
What's on your list?