New Year's Resolutions

A new set of challenges!

2015 is finally upon us and each New Year brings a new set of challenges. Our reactions and attitude to those challenges say a lot about us as individuals. It has become customary, dare I say expected, that we all make New Year resolutions but it seems to me that we are expected to fail. The resolutions are expected to fade into obscurity shortly after making them and people rarely think less of us for allowing that to happen. New Year resolutions should not have the short lifespan of a Lenten forbearance of 40 days and then reversion to type immediately thereafter.  

It may seem a bit late to be talking about resolutions now that  New Year’s Day has actually passed but resolutions do not have to be commenced on January 1st they can be started at any time and in my humble opinion they are better started away from the fanfare and hoopla of the New Year. 

Before making new resolutions I think we should look back at the last lot we made and assess their success or lack thereof. One thing for sure is that we should not stop trying. If last year’s resolutions were not the greatest success remember the age old motto “If at first you don’t succeed try and try again” and then think of the other old saying “The true mark of a man is not how many times he falls but how many times he picks himself up

Think carefully about what you want to achieve and then plot your route to the target. I have written before on the importance of focus and without focus you will not hit your target while always remembering that it takes 3 weeks for a good habit to take root but unfortunately it only takes 3 days to uproot it. Resolutions do not have to be about forbearance; giving up smoking, losing weight. The more important resolutions are positive in nature; being a nicer person, volunteering, getting fitter. These positive resolutions will benefit others as well as ourselves. A smile, a kind word a friendly contact all cost nothing. I write down and keep track of my resolutions/plans and it helps when I notice I am slipping. 

I only made one New Year Resolution for 2015; it is simply ‘to be the best I can be’. This may seem a bit wishy/washy as resolutions go but it works for me. As I said in a recent blog post on Living Like You, MS has robbed me of a lot particularly in the physical side of things but having a New Year Resolution allows me to focus on overcoming the downside of MS and enhancing the positives in my life. 

So in conclusion New Year Resolutions are a necessary evil but we can adopt a resolution at any time.

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