A New Year. A 'New You'?!
I tend not to do the whole New Year's resolutions thing. I did once, aged 8 or so, write down all the bad habits I wanted to put an end to and burn the page. But I'm pretty sure it didn't last long. I don't think they work. Not because it isn't a good idea, starting fresh with the change of the year makes sense. You never want to start a new fitness regime/healthier eating/better bedtime/less internet use etc etc mid-week, it's far too tiring to try and change when you're just trying to make it to the end of the week. And often the same often goes for mid-month so using the New Year to help make changes is almost natural.
But the idea of a 'resolution' doesn't stick. Normally they are things like 'do more exercise', 'drink less', 'eat better', 'read more', 'have less sex with strangers', 'have more sex with strangers', 'go out more' etc etc. Aims. But not actually something you can call a resolution because that involves something more, a change of something within yourself. A new resolve. Basically, it requires a new outlook, which is something an aim can't give you.
What I propose, then, instead of making aim-like resolutions, is to think over the last year and to the next. Ask yourself, what do you wish to achieve? What did you miss out doing in 2013 and what did you do too much of? Once you stop going through your life on auto-pilot, you're much more able to make the changes you want.
Look at the bigger picture. I think too often we find ourselves living in the present, which is great if you are achieving things you want to achieve and enjoying the joy of the spontaneous. But if you're allowing yourself to go home at the end of work every day because you say you are too tired to go to the pub, or if you're messing about at home on the sofa in front of a screen all weekend, you're not enjoying the joy of the spontaneous. And you certainly aren't living. If you live your life in auto-pilot, how on earth are you going to achieve any of your dreams? I don't mean aims like being fitter or having a more balanced diet. I mean the dreams and hopes you have for the rest of your life that's to come. The things that keep you going when you feel bad/sad/mad etc. The hopes you've either shared with your friends and family for support or, out of fear, wrapped up secretly in your mind. Everybody wants something. Career-related or not.
So, as it is now 2014 and a new year, I suggest sitting down and writing down on paper everything you want to achieve. Look at it, take it all in. See how much you want, how far you've got to go. And make it happen. Stop existing. Start living.
But the idea of a 'resolution' doesn't stick. Normally they are things like 'do more exercise', 'drink less', 'eat better', 'read more', 'have less sex with strangers', 'have more sex with strangers', 'go out more' etc etc. Aims. But not actually something you can call a resolution because that involves something more, a change of something within yourself. A new resolve. Basically, it requires a new outlook, which is something an aim can't give you.
What I propose, then, instead of making aim-like resolutions, is to think over the last year and to the next. Ask yourself, what do you wish to achieve? What did you miss out doing in 2013 and what did you do too much of? Once you stop going through your life on auto-pilot, you're much more able to make the changes you want.
Look at the bigger picture. I think too often we find ourselves living in the present, which is great if you are achieving things you want to achieve and enjoying the joy of the spontaneous. But if you're allowing yourself to go home at the end of work every day because you say you are too tired to go to the pub, or if you're messing about at home on the sofa in front of a screen all weekend, you're not enjoying the joy of the spontaneous. And you certainly aren't living. If you live your life in auto-pilot, how on earth are you going to achieve any of your dreams? I don't mean aims like being fitter or having a more balanced diet. I mean the dreams and hopes you have for the rest of your life that's to come. The things that keep you going when you feel bad/sad/mad etc. The hopes you've either shared with your friends and family for support or, out of fear, wrapped up secretly in your mind. Everybody wants something. Career-related or not.
So, as it is now 2014 and a new year, I suggest sitting down and writing down on paper everything you want to achieve. Look at it, take it all in. See how much you want, how far you've got to go. And make it happen. Stop existing. Start living.
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