Come January 1st, everybody has a New Year’s resolution. The hope is that by making a single change in their daily routines, their lives will change tremendously for the better.
When you actually think about it, does that actually make sense?
Will giving up your guilty pleasure for chocolate make you a happier person? Or will saving your spare change make you as successful as Donald Trump? Probably not.
So what is the problem? Perhaps we’re making our resolutions too specific.
One might think that the more specific the resolution, the more effective it will be.
For example, you declare to save all of your spare change at the end of each day and put it in the bank.You have a plan, it is within reason, and you know how to accomplish it. Because your plan is so clearly specified, you have a good chance of accomplishing it. However, will this ultimately make you a millionaire? Will it make you happier? Doubtful. The reward is in the distant future.
Thus, I suggest a different plan of action this year. Make your New Year’s resolution more vague. Resolve to ‘pay it forward’ or to gain more self esteem.
Goals that are ambiguous give you more opportunities to achieve them. Paying it forward could be volunteering at a soup kitchen, paying for a stranger’s coffee, or picking up trash on the sidewalk. The opportunities are literally endless. You will feel like you are doing more to accomplish your resolution.
This year, my resolution is to appreciate more. A very general goal.
Hopefully, this will change my entire perspective. Instead of complaining about only getting 6 hours of sleep, I will appreciate that I simply slept. I will appreciate simple things such as a cup of coffee or a sunny day.
Many local teenagers are resolving to use their cellphones less.
They vow not to text during a meal, use their cellphones while driving, or to limit the amount of times they visit social networking sites each day. A goal like this could have a domino effect and end up impacting an entire community.
Imagine walking into your local breakfast joint and see people enjoying conversations with friends, reading the newspaper, drinking coffee all without a single cell phone in hand or ringtone filling the air. Imagine driving through town without seeing a driver on their cellphone. Your New Years resolution can change your community.
Having a vague New Year’s resolution blurs the lines. It gives you a myriad of opportunities to accomplish your goal in a different ways.
Instead of strictly saving your spare pennies, you can have fun changing your attitude each and every day. It is a new year. Your chance to enrich your life and the lives of those around you. What will you resolve in 2014?