Happy New Year!
Starting the year out right, of course, I forgot to get the pictures for this month resized, so here we are with unadorned text. 🙁
But the New Year hullaballoo makes me think: what is it with humans and new starts? Benchmarks on the calendar or in life are seized as opportunities to make things better. Mondays. The end of the semester or quarter in school. The first of a month. The first of a year!
- Lose ten pounds!
- Get organized!
- Clean the house!
- Get that promotion!
(Why don’t we ever make lists like:
- Eat more chocolate!
- Go to the movies!
- Visit Machu Pichu!)
Psychologists talk about our innate need for neatness, by which they mean Psychological Neatness, not hanging up your clothes or making everything line up on your desk top. Setting goals falls into this category, and what are those pesky New Year’s Resolutions but goals we set for ourselves?
The calendar gives us a starting line, however artificial. The same old life trudges on, but it seems like the perfect time to make it all new. Why? Perhaps because the future is pristine, a blackboard on which we can write our heart’s desire, unfettered by past failures?
Well, who wouldn’t want to go for that?
Since I’m just a normal human being (although my then teen-aged daughter once said, “Mom, you’re weird.”), here’s my own personal list.
- Make every day count
- Be nicer
- Write more
- Keep the house cleaner
- Practice the harp more
- Do more marketing and advertising*
- And yes, what list would fail to include…lose weight
Whatever your list includes, remember, You Can Do It!
Jenny
* Yes. I’m sorry to tell you that the book market today is a nightmare scenario that requires writers to advertise their books and beg for reviews. (Yes, that’s a hint. Leave reviews. Your favorite author will bless you.)