Every year, millions of people bid farewell to the year that passed with hopes that the next 365 days will be better. We make agreements with ourselves of promises to be superior in certain aspects of our lives, to do additional and specific things that will help achieve certain objectives; a new year’s resolution.
We make agreements with ourselves to be superior in certain aspects of our lives, to do additional things that will help achieve certain objectives; a new year’s resolution.
More often than not, a few weeks into the New Year, these wishful accomplishments are forgotten and we go back to living our days as they were before. Why are we putting so much pressure on ourselves to reach unattainable goals when really it’s the little things that matter the most?
Therefore this year, I’m going to stop pretending like I’m finally going to master BBG and instead I vow to focus on these (realistic) actions that can be conquered daily. Feel free to use these as your New Year’s resolutions too.
Smile.
How many times have you bumped into a smiling face and instantly felt happier? People say that misery loves company, and I believe that the same applies in the opposite direction. So crack a smile when you make eye contact with someone, whether it is in line at a store or in the morning on your walk into work. Smiles are contagious and the result is definitely positive.
Be patient.
If you think about it, it is really unnecessary to lose your patience. It doesn’t help the situation and often will make it worse. Personally, I notice my patience wearing thin during the winter months when the Montreal construction is mixed with mountains of snow leading to more traffic and congestion. This year, I will accept that the area in which I (currently) live unluckily receives a lot of snow and that the first day of spring is less than 100 days away. I will press play on my favorite podcast and smile through the traffic (okay maybe not smile, but I won’t honk).
Be kind.
Random acts of kindness don’t have to be so random. Why not be kind to everyone, always? Kindness doesn’t have to be a big production; you don’t have to go out of your way to buy a stranger a coffee. Just be nice. Take the time to ask others how they are doing; like everyone’s Instagram photo (because realistically, we live in a world where this matters to many people); put down your phone and spend quality time with friends and family. Smile.
If you’re still in need of some resolution inspo, check out Neil Gaiman’s New Year’s wishes – my favorite is from 2008:
“I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.”
[ninja_form id=104]
[ad_bb1]