Opportunities – Hugh's Views & News

Why do so many of us make New Year’s resolutions? Do they help? Are they frustrating? Do they bring hope? Do they create pressure? Do they cause us stress? Do they actually 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 decided to stop adding sugar to my tea and coffee. I’m still ‘sugar-free’ when drinking tea and coffee. Success!

If you’ve made any New Year’s resolutions, good luck with them. If, like me, you haven’t, grab the nearest 2026 calendar and count how many days it shows. Why am I asking you to count the days on a calendar? There’s a valid reason for this.

Did you count 365 days? Yes? If you counted 366, then you’re looking at 2024’s calendar. Ditch it. Now look at all those days 2026 has to offer.

Each of those days marks a new beginning. Every day offers a chance to start something new. Each day brings opportunities that come knocking. Every day provides a chance to set a resolution if you choose to. Each day allows you to utilise your time effectively. Every day presents an opportunity to make someone smile. Each day gives you a chance to do something good for another person. Every day is a day you can put to good use. Don’t waste them.

What am I getting at?

In simple terms, you can initiate a resolution on any day of the year. I’ve had more success with resolutions I began on days other than New Year’s Day. This makes a lot of sense when considering 364 days compared to one. And isn’t each new day the start of a new year in your life?

Thank you.

Each new year, I reflect and express my gratitude to those who have shaped my life over the past 12 months. This includes not only the people I have met but also those I’ve never encountered, yet who have influenced my life in some way.

As a blogger, I refer to those who visited my blog, engaged with the discussions on my posts, and interacted with the photos I shared.

If you’re not a blogger, the people you interact with on social media may have influenced your life in some way. Consider this: you don’t need to hear spoken words from someone for them to impact your life. Likewise, you don’t have to meet someone in person for them to affect your life.

If it weren’t for all of you out there, the last 12 months would have been a little quieter 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 significant part of my 2025. You listened to me; you made me laugh. Some of you made me cry, and that’s how I reacted to one of your posts. You astounded me; you made me think. You changed my life or encouraged me to try something new. You entertained me. You helped me through the low points and shared my happiness and joy during the high ones. You influenced me.

What was 2025 like for you?

2025 may have had its low points, but it will also have included some high points. Sometimes, it’s a simple case of coming out of the forest of lows and seeing the highs. Focus on the highs, not the lows.

One of the most significant opportunities for me was having the chance to step back, look at how I was blogging and change how I was doing it. I almost gave up, but when it comes to my online audience and friends, I’m not a quitter.

Don’t feel pressured into publishing blog posts every day. Sadly, I’ve witnessed too many bloggers give up on their blogs because they believed that if they didn’t publish every day, no one would visit. How wrong they were. Anyone who tells you that you must publish a blog post every day to become a successful blogger is not telling you the truth.

Engagement on my blog increased despite a trend toward fewer people engaging and a shift toward engaging more on social media.

2025 may almost be over or gone, but it shouldn’t be forgotten. Why? Because, like any day, week, month or year, it played a significant part in your life.

Thank you, 2025.

Thank you, 2025, 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 2026 will bring. Are you?

What to do with New Year’s Resolutions

Turn them into opportunities. Opportunities to make new friends, new acquaintances, and new experiences. Make people laugh every day, make people happy, teach people something new, and tell somebody something that will make their day. Don’t turn your resolutions into opportunities that become barriers or hurdles for you or anyone else or that make people unhappy. Be kind to people, even if you don’t agree with what they have to say.

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

Light yellow image with stars and the words 'Cheers to 2024. Welcome 2025! — Happy New Year!

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Have you experienced some exciting successes along the way? What incredible opportunities did 2025 offer you? I’d love to hear your thoughts—leave me a comment and let’s inspire each other in this discussion!

The feature image in this post was generated using the WordPress AI Image generator block.

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This post was originally published on 1st January 2025. It has been updated and republished.

What would you say to me if I told you that I disliked receiving gifts? I’m not talking about all gifts. I’m talking about the ones I consider to be a waste of money because they render as useless.

I think we’ve all had gifts we received for Christmas and birthdays and seen them as a waste of money. But before you start thinking how ungrateful I sound, hear me out, because I’ve had an idea which I hope many of you will join in with me.

Nobody likes wasting money, do they?

No! Especially when they’re on a tight budget.

What saddens me most is witnessing people spending money on unwanted gifts because they feel they have to buy you something. With so many people less fortunate in the world, wouldn’t that money be better spent helping those most in need?

For years, I’ve donated some of the unwanted gifts I’ve received to charity shops. Unfortunately, because of lockdown, some charity shops are no longer able to take donations because they’ve nowhere to store new stock.

So, how do you ask people politely to stop wasting their money on Christmas and birthday gifts you didn’t request?

Have you encountered this situation?

A few months, weeks, days, hours, minutes before your birthday or Christmas, you hear the words ‘What would you like for Christmas/ your birthday?‘ Because I loath replying or hearing the phrase ‘I don’t know,’ I alway have a list ready. However, I still don’t always get the items on my list and sometimes end up with something I’ll never use or which has me scratching my head as to why it was purchased.

I’m lucky. But you may not be as fortunate as me.

I’ve always been one of those people that if they like something, buys it. It hasn’t always been like that. Like many, I’d have to save up to buy some of those items. And as somebody who dislikes being fussed over, buying what I want when I need it works perfectly for me.

However, as I’ve grown older, I find it problematic telling people what I want for Christmas or my birthday.

Allow me, therefore, to reveal the idea at the beginning of this post, which solves my dilemma and will change your next birthday (if you join me in this challenge).

Get writing or asking.

I wrote an email to my family members asking them not to buy me birthday presents. Instead, I asked them to choose a charity and donate the money to them.

Some family members didn’t like this idea, saying I had to have something, while some said they’d instead give me money to donate to a charity of my choice.

But that wasn’t what I was asking them to do!

I kindly asked them to donate the money that they would spend on me to a charity of their choice. That way, I’d feel great about money going to be spent on me, instead going to charity. I hoped it would make them feel great for donating to a charity of their choice. After all, we all feel good when donating to charity, don’t we? I saw it as a win-win situation.

Don’t allow people to knock your idea back.

Although my idea didn’t seem to go down well initially, I did get my way.

My family got together, and the money earmarked for my birthday presents has been donated to the Llanhilleth Miners’ Institute Covid Response Food Pantry.

So not only will the donations help in setting this new charity up, it will also help with some of the costs to run the programme. That makes me feel so good.

I realise that not everyone will want the money spent on their birthday presents donated. So even if it’s just the money for one present, think of all the good it will do if some of you ask for birthday money to be donated to a charity.

When your next birthday comes around, think about asking at least one person to donate the money they would have spent on you, to a charity of their choice. Just think of all the good you’ll both be doing in helping those less fortunate than you. Not only that, but I guarantee it will make you both feel great too.

How to completely change your birthday.

If you want to completely change your birthday (or Christmas 2021), ask everyone who buys you a birthday and/or Christmas present to donate the money they’d spend on your gifts to a charity of their choice. That’s what I’ll be doing in December 2021.

Will you take up my Birthday challenge? How would you feel if somebody asked you to donate the money you would have spent on a birthday or Christmas gift to a charity? Let me know by leaving me a comment and join the discussion.