Why do so many of us make New Year’s resolutions? Do they help? Are they a pain? Do they put pressure on us? Do they stress us out? Do they work? Do they give us something to look forward to?
The only resolution I made on New Year’s Day (which worked for me), was the one I made on January 1st 1994. It was the day I told myself to stop adding sugar to tea and coffee. I’m still ‘sugar-total’ when it comes to drinking tea and coffee. Success!
If you’ve made some New Year’s resolutions, then good luck with them. If, like me, you haven’t, grab the nearest calendar and count how many days there are on it.
Why am I asking you to count the days on a calendar? There’s a good reason.
Did you count 365 days? Yes? 366, if you’re looking at a 2020 calendar. Ditch that old calendar, and get yourself one for this year. Look at all those days on it.
Every one of those days is a day of new beginnings. Every day is a day to start something different. Every day is a day opportunities will come knocking. Every day is a day to set yourself a resolution (if you want to). Every day is a day you can make good use of. Every day is a day you can make somebody smile. Every day is a day you can do something good for somebody else. Don’t waste them.
What am I getting at?
Simply put, you can start a resolution on any day of the year. I’ve had more successes with resolutions I started on days other than New Year’s Day. But that makes a lot of sense when it’s 364 days against one day. And isn’t every new day the beginning of a new year in your life? Check out Erika’s post. I think she agrees with me.
Thank you.
There is something I enjoy doing every new year. I look back and thank those who shaped my life over the previous 12 months. And those include the people I never met but who in some way influenced my life.
As a blogger, I’m talking about those who visited my blog, read and joined in with the discussions on the posts I wrote and photos I shared.
If you’re not a blogger, then the people you will have been in touch with on social media may have influenced your life somehow. Think about it. You don’t have to hear words from somebody for them to influence your life. And you don’t need to physically meet someone for them to have an influence on your life.
If it weren’t for all of you out there, the last 12 months would have been a little quiet and emptier here on my blog. And I don’t believe that’s something any blogger wants for their blog.
So, a big thank you for all your support, kindness, and friendship and for being a big part of my 2020. You listened to me; you made me cry. You astounded me; you made me think. You made me change my life or persuaded me to try out something new. You entertained me; you helped me through the low points and encouraged me over the high ones. You influenced me.
What was 2020 like for you? Think hard before you answer that question.
2020 may have seemed a horrible and strange year for many of us, but it will have given us opportunities and some nice bits too.
For me, one of the most significant opportunities was an invitation to become a guest columnist at the Carrot Ranch, a blog hosted by Charli Mills. I may already know some of the Carrot Ranch writers, but an invitation to write for another blog is an opportunity I am incredibly thankful to have come my way in 2020.
Another significant opportunity 2020 gave me was to sort out and donate stuff to my local charity shops. ‘Lockdown’ allowed me to declutter my home and pass on items I no longer needed. Those expired items not only went on to generate money for good causes but were brought back to life by their new owners. I like to think that the happiness those items once gave me has now been passed on to the new owners.
2020 may be gone, but it shouldn’t be forgotten. Why? Elouise tells us why. Read her post here and read the comments on the post too.
Thank you, 2020.
Thank you, 2020, for the opportunities you presented to me. You may think you did a good job at hiding them from me, but they were there when I looked hard enough.
Now, I’m looking forward to the opportunities 2021 will bring.
What to do with New Year’s Resolutions
My answer is – Turn them into opportunities. Opportunities to make new friends, new acquaintances, and new experiences. Make people laugh, make people happy, teach people something new, and tell somebody something that will make them smile. Don’t turn your resolutions into opportunities that become barriers or hurdles for you or anyone else or that make people unhappy. Make people laugh, make people smile.
Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist.
We are all in the gutter. But some of us are looking at the stars.
Oscar Wilde
Which ones are you going to be in 2021?
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Have you had any successes or failures with them? What opportunities did 2020 give you? What answer would you give to the title of this blog post? Leave me a comment and join the discussion.
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