I love New Year celebrations. Parties, fireworks, reflection on the past year, resolutions for all the new things I will achieve. The new year often brings with it an excitement about a renewed chance to do the things I've dreamt of doing and become the better me I've aspired to be.
Most of us as procrastinate. You know, "I am starting a diet on Monday", "I'm going to quit smoking on the 15th", "I'm going to start working out on blah de blah date"... the list goes on. Sometimes people proclaim, "starting today", but that is most likely after thinking about starting for weeks or months, or sometimes years. Nothing to kick our asses about, it just seems to be human nature.
As a new year approaches, excitement builds for what we can create, achieve or become. We know we are capable and we all have dreams we want to become a reality. "This is my year", we say. We want it, we sincerely mean it, and the dedication is real.
I'm not here to burst anyone's bubble, but let's face reality together. Several dependable studies show that 80% of new year's resolutions are abandoned by February. There are loads of tips and tricks to create goals with a solid plan that will help with the success rate. Some of us hire life coaches or trainers, and religiously document our plans and set rigorous schedules. Others join groups for accountability and "cross our heart, hope to die" with a solid promise to do it "this time". If we fail, we hope nobody remembers our solid proclamations, or we come up with darn good reasons why it was not achievable and we go back to our old routines, which might include feeling shitty about ourselves and wishing we had what we wanted.
Did you know that January 1st became the first day of a new year in 1752 so we could conform to the Gregorian calendar? Prior to that, the first day of a new year was in March. At one time, the calendar year was 445 days long, and Julius Cesar added November and December and some extra days here and there. I personally would like to add a few more months just to add some years to my life. But wait, would that truly add years or just make me feel like I was younger even though time passes the same?
I woke up exceptionally early today, feeling excited about today. It's not January 1st, it's January 3rd, and I have no new year resolutions. May be I had some great dreams or the meditation I did before sleep programmed my mind? Perhaps I just intuitively know that every day is a day for new possibilities and resolutions.
The definition of resolution is, "a firm decision to do or not to do something". We do this every day, don't we? Sometimes we follow through and most of the time we don't. We don't really need a new year to change, or do the things we've been wanting to do all year, but we sure as hell hope it's going to kick us into gear.
Today, I'm considering every day my new year. I don't know how long I will live and I'm not really even sure how old I am since I feel many years younger than what the current calendar shows. I can make each day whatever I want it to be, within reason of course. I do live in a society of calendars, schedules, goals, bills and all the other things that keep me "on schedule".
New Year's resolutions are nice. They can motivate us and make us feel good and sometimes help us to achieve goals. But let's face the music my friends, we don't need a new year to do this. We need a new day and a firm decision (or resolution if you prefer) to do better than the day before, if we feel we need to. We need deep appreciation for life and a desire to live it the best we can no matter what day it is.
Happy New Day and best wishes for a day of fulfilled New Day resolutions.
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