It’s that time of year, again. That time when we all make New Year’s resolutions.
I haven’t made a New Year’s resolution in several years. Who needs to begin the year with failure? That’s where resolutions left me–wallowing in failure like a pig wallowing in mud!
Instead of a resolution to start the year, I decided a few years ago just to “be who I want to be.” I want to be fit, but I don’t want to be a gym rat. So what does that mean? For me, it means walking the dog, hiking at Rocky Mountain National Forest, skiing, snow shoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, going for a run or pumping iron in my basement. Being fit, for me, doesn’t have to mean gym time or the number of classes attended. That is not why I want to be fit. I want to be fit so I can do stuff and enjoy it.
That’s not all I want to be, of course. I aim to be proactive in all parts of my life, physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and social. I have found that if I am not purposeful about my life, I tend to get out of balance. One of the docs I work with, Dr. Rhett, preaches doing small things consistently. He is absolutely right. If we stretch every day and have vegetables with every meal, we will be moving toward good physical health. If we read 10 pages of a good book every day, we will be a well read, and hopefully, a well educated person. It is those little things done with consistency that helps us to be who we want to be.
There was another great role model in the my life back in Georgia. She was a mom I knew from the home school group we were both members of. She kept a notebook where she wrote plans for each area of her life and to track her progress in each area. I was blown away by that and still am. I am not going to create and keep a notebook, but I am going to structure my life to support “who I want to be.”
Who do you want be in 2016? No excuses. Just do it. If you need a coach or guidance, get it. If you need a notebook, buy one. If you want to take a class to learn something new, enroll in school. You’re not too old.
I read a blog post by Miriam Zacharias, http://miriamzacharias.com/how-to-get-remarkable-results-in-2016/#comment-5985, today that I thought was really great. It includes a clip of Jim Carey giving a commencement address. You are about to graduate from 2015 to 2016. Take about 3 minutes to hear his advice. Then, go “be who you want to be.”
