Happy New Year, Readers
We often start our new year by declaring all the ways in which we plan to improve ourselves. It’s as though we currently aren’t “good enough.”
Not me.
I’ll begin with my word for 2016: ENOUGH
Not as in
“thin enough,” or
“smart enough,” or
“pretty enough,” or
“young enough,” or
“old enough.”
Just, enough.
But enough about “enough.” This is the obligatory New Year’s Resolution post and I shall get cracking here. Here is my list:
Yup. I’ve got none. No resolutions. No goals.
There are things I’d like to do. I have plans. I have dreams. But I make no promises.
- I’m in the midst of updating my website. Stay tuned for that unveiling in February or March.
- I want to expand the themes of my blog posts to include Home, Good-byes, and Midlife Challenges (am I still midlife?) while continuing the themes of Friendship, Cultural Differences, Peace Corps, Central Asia, and so forth.
- I want to continue to write about some of the absurdities I find in my own culture. Unfortunately, they are too easy to find any more.
- And I want to be sure to have fun while I do it.
Thoughts?
Ian Mathie
I love your approach. Making resolutions just because it’s New Year seems a daft idea to me. One should only make resolutions when they are necessary, required by circumstances and enable someone else to have confidence that you will do what you say you’ll do about something.
But resolutions are not promises. They are only declarations of intent which some people use to encourage themselves. I don’t need any encouraging to get myself into the messes I do. I’m already very good at that and fully motivated! Nor do I need reinforcement to get out of them. After all, nobody wants to be in a mess all the time and the natural reaction is to sort the mess out. So why does one need a resolution?
No, I have enough mess, without getting into any more. I have enough energy and impetus to get out of them without reinforcements. And I’m happy enough with me as I am.
Happy New Year to you and all your readers! 🙂
Janet Givens
HI Ian. Welcome back. I’ve missed your voice here the past few weeks.
I’m very glad you enjoyed today’s post. I have to say it was a leap for me. I actually like planning, setting down goals (identifying the goals I want) and all the hoopla that goes into New Year’s Resolutions, traditionally. But this year, I wanted to do it differently. This is the first year in a very long time, over two decades, that I’ve intentionally skipped the process. It’s my new “growing edge.” Cheers to you and yours in the new year.
Susan Joyce
I feel the same. Happy to be me!
Janet Givens
And that happiness seeps out to those around you. Thanks for popping in.
On a different topic — your own blog — Are you planning to provide us your entire book? I’m really into it.
Kathleen Pooler
Janet, I know I’m very late to the party but I’m just catching up. I’m with you..no resolutions. I want to remain open to where the muse takes me and I want to have some fun along the way. I love your new plans for your blog and look forward to reading all about it. Happy New Year!
Janet Givens
Thanks Kathy, and you know you’re always welcome here, whatever time it is. I resonate with your “open to where the muse takes me,” as that’s been my motto for that past year, but I have to add that I’m getting a tad impatient for her to show up.