So let's begin. Here are my resolutions for 2012 and why they made the list.....
1. Make all new mistakes. This is the resolution I've made for probably fifteen years or more and it still deserves top billing in my opinion. On the surface, it seems like a silly resolution, almost trite... to make "new" mistakes but in reality, it's the most life changing of them all. In actuality if a person could accomplish this, their life would improve exponentially each year. Think about it. Every mistake we make...every single one. Learned from, growth experienced, never to be repeated. Think about that concept for a moment. Think about how many missteps we make each year, big and small. From ignoring your child when they're wanting your undivided attention to working for a company who's ethical standards are below par. From sitting in church every Sunday and nodding in agreement with the tenants of the bible and then ignoring those same laws when you gossip about your neighbor, judge a stranger who's down on his luck or engage in "creative" tax accounting. Or on a personal level, how many times do we "tell" people how to treat us? How many times do we allow someone we love to manipulate us or walk all over us? Maybe we allow others opinions to influence our own opinions of ourselves or we refuse to learn from our mistakes so even if we break free from someone who's holding us down, we continue to attract others who treat us exactly the same way. Imagine if we could do the work to learn from that mistake and never repeat it? Imagine how much better we would be and think of the example we'd set for our children....... All these mistakes and so many more. I could go on and on and on. Obviously I've never successfully learned from every mistake I've made before making it again but that doesn't stop me from trying. Like the Holy Grail, I will forever seek the prize of this quest. So that's my first resolution...
2. Seek positive news only. Several years ago I quit watching the news or reading newspapers because I needed to eliminate some of the negativity in my life yet I hate being un-informed. Instead I choose the internet as a source for world events because I could pick and choose what stories to read and which to ignore. That seemed to work pretty well for several years but recently I've noticed a resurgence of that oppressive feeling. Maybe journalists are getting more descriptive with their story titles or I'm just getting better at reading between the lines, but scanning the titles is practically the same as reading the whole thing anymore. It's just too much. I'm sick to death of all the negative press. So I did a little research and I've found a few websites that report only positive news and I'm going to give them a try. It's amazing how many of these report the same stories but focus on the positives instead of the negatives. It sounds like such a refreshing change so I'm going to give it a try before moving to an isolated cabin in some remote part of Montana to live completely off the grid!
3. A clustered plan. Because I'm saving the biggest and most difficult two for last and I really don't want this list of resolutions to be as long as my arm, I'm grouping a few of the simplest that require the least amount of explanation.
3a-Focus on the present and be grateful. No explanation needed here.
3b-Walk my own path. An acquaintance of mine once told me that during a biking trip across China, she had a philosophical discussion with a Catholic priest who told her that it's inherently wrong to do someone else's work. The profoundness of that statement has stuck with me since the day she told it to me. I try to think about it whenever someone I care about is repeating a mistake or heading in the wrong direction (in my opinion). I try to remember that we each have our own paths to walk and lessons to learn. By not learning them the first time, we will encounter them again and again until the message is received loud and clear...(refer back to resolution #1 here). This is a tough one for me for two reasons. First I don't want my loved ones to be hurt repeatedly, even if it is because they refuse to learn from the past and second, there's a fine line between maintaining a hands-off attitude and coming across as detached and uncaring. This one's a work in progress for me since this was a resolution from New Year's 2009 that I haven't completely mastered yet. But I'm working on it.
3c-Let myself off the hook in some areas of my life and hold myself accountable in others. Not a lot of explanation needed here...just need to work on knowing when to push and when to coast...another work in progress that may require the help of my friends. Sometimes it's easier to see from the outside looking in.
It's getting late and I'm tired of writing. Three down and two to go....but I'll save those for tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment