It's the time of year for resolutions when we make these pronouncements:
I don't make New Year's resolutions anymore.
Yes, I like to have a date when I will begin a new book, or have a book ready for publishing, but when it comes to these shouldas, couldas, wouldas, about my person, I feel as though I need to make a decision and begin, whether it's the beginning, middle or end of the year.
It's because I know what I need to do. I just have to get off my butt and do it, whatever it is, whenever it is.
See, I know I need to lose a few pounds. I need to eat smaller portions and eat less sugar. I didn't wait for the end of the year to make my New Year's resolution to begin. I just said, “This is what I need to be healthy.”
And I know it's not a diet. This is the way of life. I just have to do it.
For my career I knew I needed to manage the advertising and marketing and writing. I quit my job because at the moment I was able to. Because this is what I had to do if I want to be an author.
We like the idea of new beginnings. The ability to shed the bad stuff from the previous year. I have a lot of baggage I could do that with. What I need to do instead, is remember to live in the moment. Not my resolution, but my real life, all the time.
It's not a resolution, it's simply me remembering that today is a new day and I need to live today with all that entails. No more resolutions, no more attempts. Just one day at a time. If I slip today, I pick up and do it again the next without judging myself or being hard on myself when one day goes badly. I tomorrow, not January 1. There's always tomorrow.
If you must make a resolution, do this: Each and everyday I will:
We mess up. We take corrective actions we move on. I will remember to live in the moment, not starting on January 1, but starting today.
Have yourself a very happy holiday season and be your best self, even if that means you lay around in your jammies watching Doctor Who episodes once and while.
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It’s that time of year again. It’s time for beginnings and starting fresh, a new year. It’s time to make resolutions, pledge to better habits and embrace goals for the year. The slate is clean and you can start anew.
No – it is not New Year’s Eve. Check your calendar again. For me, the beginning of the year does not start on January 1. It doesn’t even start on the first day of the fiscal year. It doesn’t start at the Jewish New Year (although that is closer in date…) For me, everything is changes with the beginning of the new school year.
There is something exciting and promising about September for all ages. When you were young, it would be the opportunity of a new school year ahead of you. New teacher, new school supplies, new classmates – everything was starting over with a clean slate. I would say to myself, “This year, things will be different. I will kick off the school year with good study habits. My notebooks are fresh. My teachers don’t know that I have a tendency to turn projects in late. I can reinvent myself.”
As a mother, I still have these new school year feelings for my children. We go out and buy fresh school supplies. We talk about what didn’t work last year and try to set up new organizational systems, develop new study strategies, and more to make this coming year a success.
And embracing the new “year” still affects me as an adult, even though don’t personally follow a school year calendar. New commitments to writing. New commitments to organizing my life. New commitments to selling my stories. New ideas. A fresh start.
When is your “new year”? How does the approaching fall affect you? Does the newly crisp air incite you to start fresh? Or are you one who subscribes to a January 1 deadline for making resolutions? Or maybe you don’t believe in setting arbitrary dates to change your habits and to live a better life. What is your strategy? Let me know at by commenting here or finding me on Facebook or Twitter @SherylSteines.
Meanwhile, happy new season!
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