Not Resolutions

   Courtesy Washington Post

There was a time, I made New Years resolutions every year and posted them on New Years Day here on Oldereyes – Bud’s Blog.  The last time I did that was 2014.   Sometimes, I would grade myself on how well I kept them at the end of the year.  I was not an honor student.   At some point, I realized I was making basically the same resolutions every year, so I decided to convert my resolutions to a daily checklist that lives on my phone.   For a while I religiously recorded my self-improvement performance daily … until after a while I didn’t.  Oh, I know what’s on the checklist and try to follow my goals but nothing gets recorded.   There is a part of me wants to spontaneously be a better person and there is part that doesn’t want to be bothered.  My Inner Curmudgeon says, You are 78 years old.  You are what you are.  Still, I think resolutions are good for the soul … and unlike my mother, I don’t believe the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Without good intentions, we never improve, and the same Mom that warned against good intentions taught me that life is for growing.

Worry not, I’m not going drag you through a boring list of resolutions … I’ll simply resolve to consult my Daily Checklist more often.  But I do want to talk about an article I found in the Washington Post titled Pick a New Year’s nudge word instead of a resolution by Tara Parker-Pope.  The author suggests that Instead of setting a specific goal, choose a word that captures the mind-set you want to adopt in 2023 — a word that will nudge you toward positive change whenever you think of it.   It should not be a broad resolution (exercise more), a specific action (lose 20 pounds) or a goal (save more money).  Think of it as a theme for your year or, as Tara says, Think of it as the anti-resolution resolution.

Life at 78 is not always easy and not always fun.  But my wife and I have so much to be thankful for.  Each other, for one, and a big Tuxedo cat that brings us smiles all day.  Family and friends we love.  We live in a beautiful house in a beautiful place.  As I sit here writing, the world outside my window is eight inches deep in snow and the sparrows are bickering at my feeder (which is topped with a crest of snow) for a turn to eat.  It is, quite simply, beautiful.  Old age is a lot easier if I choose what to pay attention to, my joy in writing not the ache in my legs.  The beautiful scene outside, not the slippery roads we’ll have to navigate to get to the store.  Put simply, I need to accept my life as it is and notice the beauty.  So I considered ACCEPT and my nudge word, or maybe NOTICE.  But I need something more uplifting.  I want to savor the things in my life that I love.  My New Years nudge word is SAVOR.

How about you?   What would be your nudge word?

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Tags: New years resolutions, personal growth, perspectives, words

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