My New Year Resolution!

To resolve or not to resolve that is the New Year dilemma.  we are used to announce our new year resolution to whoever is willing to indulge us. I think it’s part of the funner things to talk about toward the end of the holiday season. Sometimes we have an idea of what our close family and friends might answer; loose weight, stop smoking (you know who you are). The announcement might help them feel obligated now that they will be judged if they fail and/or it will offer us an opportunity to help them stay the course as they struggle and suffer for the first few months before they call it quits shelving the resolution to the next year.

Although most of us “know” that our New Year resolutions are impossible to achieve, we give in knowing that there is no way for us to avoid answering the inevitable question “what is your New Year resolution?” If you’re not forthcoming then you’re obviously a grinch who can't see the joy in commemorating the new year with a resolution even if it were just a fib. True, the new year it is an opportunity to renew one's commitment to a better, healthier and happier future. It is our annual opportunity to chart a roadmap for a hopeful goal or two - assessable goals.

I would like to share with you a New Year's resolutions, but I would never commit to a “resolution” unless I am sure that I will achieve it. Definitely, I will never commit to a resolution with a definite timeline because it is more practical to think about starting something than to be obsessed with conquering a “goal.” Think about it, taking a first step toward a general goal is much more inviting than taking the first “dreaded” step toward an impossible goal. I have a better chance to becoming a better climber than if I “resolve” to climb Mount Everest (just thinking of conditioning my breathing to survive in thin air is reason for me to have a panic attack).

The problem is not in indulging in a New Year resolution, rather its in setting a an ambitious goal that will require a “steep climb” making it overwhelming. People fail, I’ve failed, you’ve failed in achieving our New Year resolutions over the years. I don't know what the studies would show if I looked into it, but I’m sure the success rate of people committing to and achieving their New Year's resolution is dismal. We always think in terms of achieving goals when life itself as well the concept of happiness is all about the "journey." Such should be, in my opinion, or New Year's resolutions. We shouldn’t overwhelm ourselves by putting impossible goals becuase that is a sure way for us to fail. On the other hand, to resolve to “start” something that might lead to an otherwise "goal," that is something I can sign up for.

To be honest, I do not think that you should wait until January 1 to start a journey for achieving a goal to begin with. Nor should wait till the Holiday Season to start thinking of things to do to better yourself. For the life of me, I don’t understand why we should hold off on working on positive steps toward positive outcomes until the new year. I have resolved many years ago not to commit myself to a New Year's resolution, because it seems to me that I will have to delay embarking on my journey toward a happy thing until January 1st. I realized that I am actually suspending my life until I am prompted by an annual custom to formulate a resolution. Instead, I have resolved to make a daily resolution to start something new or to at least take a step towards an idea of something that will make my life better. Since then I found myself achieving more that I’m not hindered by an arbitrary deadline to start a journey toward a positive end; i.e. I was treating everyday as an opportunity to make a New Year resolutions to live life to the fullest, to be optimistic, to be energetic, and to be a human being that will not yield his fleeting minutes until society tells him when to start living my choices.

Life is not a race. I should not wait for signal at the starting line to work on getting to the finish line. You see, a race mentality is consumed with getting to the finish line. Life is lived by experiencing it. Now that I have pontificate on this philosophical issue I will tell you what my New Year resolution; to write more thoughts down and share them on social media at least once a day. Had you going there for a minute with “at least once a day.” Seriously I will try to share more and respond to feedback without any timelines or minimum number of postings, and without an unhealthy obsession for spelling and grammar. What is your New Year resolution?

P.S. I will reread this and future writings and make the necessary fixes so please help me by sending me your edits :)