New Year resolutions
By Mark Lane Submitted to Corner Post
“I hereby resolve to be healthier, richer and better-looking in the new year.” That sums up the annual pledge millions of people make about this time each year. And, with relatively few exceptions, they give up on those dreams soon after the calendar change occurs — if they even start at all.
It has been found that making small, but meaningful lifestyle changes for a span of a 4-6 weeks leads to a greater success in the initial effort, which encourages continuation of the effort. And that, in turn, fosters success in additional small changes. Here are three steps I challenge you to take. If you prefer, feel free to choose others.
Reduce stress. Notice the goal is not to eliminate, but to reduce. Where eliminating would be daunting, reducing is do-able. And after reducing a little, you’re likely to feel motivated to reduce a little more. Perhaps the best-known resource on this subject is Dale Carnegie’s book How to Stop Worry and Start Living. In it, he offers simple techniques to prevent worry and stress from dominating your life. Among the ten areas he delves into are:
Don’t worry about the past – learn from it and move on. Today is all you can control.
Co-operate with the things you can’t control. Accept them and plan how to deal with them
Face your problems logically with three simple steps.
Count your blessings, not your troubles.
Rest – everything feels worse when you’re exhausted.
I recommend you read his book or listen to the audio version.
Reduce clutter. Clutter can contribute to stress, so taking steps in this regard will pay off in multiple ways. Have you accumulated things that you might need some day, or things that remind you of a loved one or a place you visited? Keep them if you truly expect to use them soon, or because they bring you joy. Fear and guilt aren’t good reasons to hang on to things. Relief and freedom can come from de-cluttering. If someone else needs/wants those items, pass them on. Some of our clutter, however, is best fit to be recycled or tossed.
Focus outside yourself daily. Make a point of helping someone, without any expectation of compensation of any sort. Whether it’s small (making eye contact and sharing a sincere greeting, when you might normally walk past without a glance or word) or bigger (helping someone complete a project they’re struggling with). Each day call a person who would appreciate that someone is thinking of them. Or send a note (preferably handwritten) to a family member, friend or someone who’s done something of merit. By turning our attention to others, we have less time to worry about things in our lives. Truth be told, when we focus on others, we also begin to appreciate our blessings more, and we become blessings to others.
