I’ve often wondered why so many people obsess over the start of the New Year and make such a huge production of listing some random set of resolutions that rather quickly fall by the wayside. Don’t get me wrong. As a former coach, I believe in setting goals and stating them aloud or writing them down is an important step, but why New Year’s Resolutions? Why wait till the beginning of another year to start doing the things that will improve our lives or make us better, or at least happier people?
I suppose there is a certain logic behind the idea. New
year, new start, that kind of thing. Not that there is ever a wrong time to
begin making positive steps at self-improvement. I’ve heard that the most often
cited resolution made for New Year’s is to lose weight. For many of us this is
a worthy goal, especially after we have routinely overeaten at both
Thanksgiving and Christmas. Other people resolve to do a better job of sticking
to their budget. Again, a worthy goal after we have so recently overspent on
food and gifts and travel. Whatever tops your particular set of resolutions,
allow me to offer one suggestion. Resolve to let go of the past year and all
its baggage.
In my first novel, The What If Project, the main
character, Jack, is convinced that his entire life has been affected, in a
negative way, by one specific past event. In his mind, every bad thing that has
ever happened to him can be traced back to this one moment in time. He truly
believes that the only way to fix his present state is to somehow change his
past. As the author, I can sum up the theme of the book in one word – regret. And
don’t we all have regrets about our past decisions? Things we wish we could go
back and do differently?
So, this year, let’s all resolve to stop letting our past
get in the way of our present. And our future. Let’s make the conscious
decision to look forward and start the year off right by giving ourselves an
honest and a fresh new year unclouded by our past mistakes. Let’s wipe away the
regrets and stop dwelling on the things we can’t change, but instead focus on
the ones we can. Last year is gone. Let’s make this next one a truly fantastic new year!
