To Make Resolutions for the New Year, or Not to Make Resolutions? That is the question..

     I have always struggled with New Year's resolutions, primarily because by mid-February they are already starting to fizzle. By August, they are all but forgotten. None the less, the start of a new year always fills me with ideas of hope and possibility. Who doesn't need a fresh start now and then? The fact that we have this annual marker for saying farewell to the old and stepping into the new is always invigorating to me.
     The thing is, as years pass, I have learned that one cannot predict what the future has in store. I find it is best not to make promises to myself that are too easily waylaid by life and circumstances. I've never liked being disappointed, especially in myself. If I promise that I'm going to jog a mile every day, then break an ankle stepping off the curb, my heart will ache forever. If I decide it's time to fall in love again, but don't meet Mr. Right, how can I be anything but disappointed? This doesn't mean I don't ponder the possibilities, or even try out some new ideas. I simply find that goals work better for me than resolutions, and that those goals need to be based on things I can control with at least some small measure of certainty.
     In a recent post on my favorite blog My French Country Home, the author listed her goals (which I have shared below) for the new year, and I found them inspiring. This is the kind of list that makes sense to me, primarily because it's about being a better person, and living a richer, more rewarding life. These are things to be contemplated every day, not just at the beginning of a new year.

 laugh more - moan less

waste less - live in a more eco-friendly manner

more generosity -  less selfishness

more open-mindedness  -  less prejudice

less deciding for others - more listening to them instead

more time with real people and less in front of a screen!