Are you the sort of person who makes New Year’s resolutions? I used to be, but it was many years ago when I was younger. Nowadays, I prefer to set some goals at appropriate times throughout the year and then do my best to achieve those goals. It certainly works well and if I manage my goals like projects they are much more likely to be completed successfully. Experience has taught me to be realistic about goals and this increases their likelihood of being attained at the appropriate time.
Some of my colleagues, acquaintances and friends come back to work in the New Year with impressive lists of resolutions (I have seen a couple of them even post them up above their desk so that they can look at them daily). However, come February, these resolutions are rather forgotten, taken down unceremoniously or else are conveniently covered by other bits and pieces of paper that are posted over them.
New Year’s Eve has always been a time for looking forward to the coming year and celebrating the new beginning. Taking a tally of all that has happened and not happened in our life and making some decisions about what we want changed in our life is something that we think more soberly about in the days that follow. It’s a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to follow through on those changes. If you are in the habit of making New Year resolutions, see how close they come to a popular “top ten list”:
1) Spend More Time with Family & Friends
2) Exercise more, get fit, live a healthier life
3) Lose weight so as not to be obese
4) Quit smoking
5) Enjoy life more, be happier
6) Quit drinking
7) Get out debt
8) Learn something new
9) Help others more
10) Get more organised
2) Exercise more, get fit, live a healthier life
3) Lose weight so as not to be obese
4) Quit smoking
5) Enjoy life more, be happier
6) Quit drinking
7) Get out debt
8) Learn something new
9) Help others more
10) Get more organised
I am sure that most people would have found a few of those resolutions that resonated with them, and perhaps were even familiar from last year’s list, or even the list of the year before. Funny thing about these resolutions they keep recurring like clockwork, year after year…
Perhaps one of the best resolutions one can make for the New Year would revolve around learning something new. Perhaps enrolling into an educational course and achieving something that would actually manage to tick off several of those resolutions in the list above. In these days of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) it is easy to find something one is interested in and taking some time each week in which to learn.
I have just enrolled in a free Coursera course on composition, which begins January 6. See it here (https://www.coursera.org/course/classicalcomp). I am sure that you can find something that interests you as well. Numerous other MOOC providers abound and you can find almost anything you are interested in studying online.
Have a Happy New Year
full of health, prosperity and joy!
