Say No to New Year’s Resolutions

snowflake3imageby Beth Mayer, LICSW

I have been thinking a lot about the New Year’s resolutions people make around this time of the year. None of us should make resolutions that end up being destructive in our lives. Why do we feel a need to resolve to do something differently at this time of the year? What about living each day in the way we see fit? Why make promises we may ultimately break and then berate ourselves for it? I did enough of that in my younger years. I am through with trying to make promises I may never keep. I am not interested in punishing myself any longer. What if we wake up every day with some positive thoughts about how we hope we will manage the day? What if today I say to myself that I want to smile at one person and see how that feels? Instead of all these crazy, unattainable New Year’s resolutions, let’s try living each day in a manner that we can be proud of. That would be a wonderful thing to aspire to. As I have gotten older, I appreciate smiling more, laughing hard and playing hard, being a good friend, a good listener and being a caring spouse, mother, daughter and sibling. I hope you can resolve to living a fuller life…not just for the month of January, but for every day we are on this Earth and beyond.

Photo courtesy of snow crystals.com