Happy New Year!!

Do you have plans for tonight?  I know people who are celebrating, others who are not.  Regardless of what you do, spend it doing something that makes you happy.  The last week and half have been crazy to say the least (more about that later), but it serves as a reminder about how precious life is–and how you should never take it for granted.  Rather than making empty resolutions focused on “fixing” you, I challenge you, dear readers, to realize that you are fabulous just the way you are and you should make resolutions that help enrich your life.  How do you do this?  By taking time to really think about why you’re making the resolutions you’re making.

It’s easy to say: I want to lose weight or stop eating sugar or run 45 miles a day.  I think sometimes there is such pressure to make resolutions, that we just throw something out there that sounds good or that we think we should be resolving, without really thinking about the why or the how. And in so doing, we often set ourselves up to fail and then feel guilty or bad or unworthy.  I’ve done it.  More times than I can count or even care to admit.

However, I don’t think that is the actual goal and purpose of New Year’s (or birthday or whenever) Resolutions.  I think it is to allow you the time to think about you and how you want to adjust your life to enhance it.  So, if I might be so bold (because I have been–on more than one occasion–called BOSSY), I’d like to offer you a few suggestions to think about when making your resolutions:

1. Be realistic.  You’re not going to lose 67 pounds by Valentines Day.  If you’re a couch potato, waking up tomorrow and running 5 miles is only going to result in your body revolting on you and calling you a whole bunch of dirty names.
2. Health and wealth are important, but so is feeling happy and helping people–so think outside the diet, exercise, and saving money box!  Volunteer, take a class, reach out to a neighbor.
3. Create a plan.  You want to learn Igbo?  Find a class or a group or go to the library and get language tapes (but maybe call ahead to see if they have Igbo language tapes).  The more specific/organized your plan is, the more likely you are to succeed.
4. Remember that, after all, tomorrow is another day.  You don’t need January 1st to reset your life, so allow an option to start over, whether that is on January 2nd or March 15th or even November 7th.                      
5. Do what makes YOU happy, not what you think other people want you to do.
6. The point of this is to better your life, not make you feel stressed, guilty, or unworthy.  Remember the first tip?  Be realistic.  Set small goals and then when you complete them, set another.

That’s my two cents for a happier, more prosperous and productive New Year.  You can, of course, take it with a grain of salt, but pleeeeease let the salt include tequila and lime! ;- )

Cheers!