Another Year, Another Set of Resolutions

Sometimes we want lifestyle changes to happen all at once and immediately.  We expect new year resolutions to undo all the damages we've sustained the year before (when really, we're probably only thinking about all the bad baggage and behavior that occur every holiday season): this year, I'm really gonna change!  But is this a realistic, strategic, inward examination of our lives and seeing how some things just aren't serving us anymore?  If it is, have we/dare we look deep enough inward to find the root cause of such unproductive and (now) unhealthy behaviors and made an honest attempt to reconcile before we forget or once again, feel defeated in our lack of ability to change?  Are we really just hoping someone or something else would change instead of us?

When a new year starts, we feel that it is a chance - a brand new start!  But these chances are everywhere and anywhere and they are there all the time.  If it is inside stuff, it's not like it's waiting for some opportunity to change itself.  Triggers are everywhere.  And when things (or you) blow up, it's the inside stuff making an appearance to remind you to take action toward that change.  Something new - or at least different - can serve you now.  The "chance" is there for the taking.

Still, there is some value in finding a time to sit and think about what it is that we want different.  And if it is new years, then so be it.  I recently looked into Moleskine templates for my new 2020 planner, and I saw this:

I thought it was rather interesting.  It breaks down new year resolutions into items you can work on each month or at least dedicate a month to work on a specific thing.  It's practical.  This way you can direct your energy into one change at a time, because, as you know, change isn't easy.

Well, happy new year!