I Don’t Do New Year Resolutions

New Year resolution posts are popping up everywhere. I like the concept, I really do, but I don’t make New Year resolutions anymore. That said, I’m big on reflecting, growth and goals but I aim to do it everyday; even in the moments. I personally, find New Year resolutions a recipe for failure rather than true growth.

One of the things my mother taught me was “don’t wait until until tomorrow to change”. There is always choice in the moments we experience. There are moments to capture, moments to savour, moments to let go, moments to reflect on, moments to change, moments to grow.  For me, this way of thinking has proved to be more sustainable than making grand plans only to give up after stumbling a few times.  Mum taught me to live this way, as she lived her life. She taught me in the moments, and capitalised the ones that counted.

Capitalising on the moments that count continues to be an important thing for me to apply when parenting.  The thing is, I’m not always there when my children need me, I make mistakes, and life happens around me.  And yet, and yet, being wise and investing in moments that count, I believe, creates a positive big picture over time, despite the ups and downs. When I say big picture, for me this means my faith in God, building memories, investing in wisdom, living love, building relationships and loving my family.

I don’t always invest in the moments that count, believe me, but I’m learning to be more aware of them. When my children ask me something, I often stop and give them my absolute attention; it usually only takes 10 seconds.  And yet, that is 10 seconds that I’m investing.

Knowing which moments that count often starts with trusting my intuition, and then following through like these examples: My Daughter Insulted Me, And it Made Me Happy and I See a Bend in the Road.

As I stand back, and look at it all from a distance, it looks like this: Be Anchored by the Big Picture; Live in the Moment.

For me it’s about being anchored by the big picture and yet being free to live life, learn and grow through the moments that life offers. This means, it doesn’t matter where I am at, if it’s the right time or other variables because I can always learn in the moments as they happen.

How this plays out in how I make goals is, for example, instead of losing weight as a narrow goal, or  exercise more, I look at the big picture goal of living a healthy lifestyle and being an example of this to my children.  This may not work for everyone but for me, it’s important to be sustainable or I’m like a up and down yo-yo. Personally, I believe it’s more important to grow, than win.

So that’s a very long way of saying, “I don’t do New Year Resolutions.” But if I did make one, it would be to live life with the same joy as my daughter in this picture.