Do you believe in new year resolutions?

Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle. Eric Zorn.



Today is the 5th of January and if you open a newspaper, magazine, or look at a blog the chances are that you will read about the new year and how we should make resolutions.

My personal opinion is that resolutions are a load of hog wash, a waste of time, and a self fulfilling prophecy of doom. Once upon a time I used to regularly set them, in fact I used to ponder for most of December as to what they might be, and on some years when I was feeling very motivated I even wrote them down at the beginning of my diary. I then used to feel the guilt start to rise and creep up like rising damp over me by about the 4th week in January when I hadn’t achieved them or completed anything that might mute towards getting to them.

So for me personally, I don’t do it. Whilst I know a lot of people who love setting them, and if that works for them that is great.

An idea that I have pinched from a good friend of mine is to write a list of intentions, using the simple word of “intentions” means that I’m not bound come hell or high water to make them happen. I also have my intentions as an ongoing list that I add to when I feel like it. What also works for me is to have a reflection page in my diary, so each month instead of looking ahead and forward planning, I spend some time looking back, and jot down what have I achieved, what worked and what didn’t work.

My friend has also highlighted to me that some balance is also important in the list, so not just work related things and not necessarily things that are going to cost lots of money, simple things that you would really like to do. Some of the things on my intentions list at the moment is a visit to the gardens at Burghley House, learn how to turn under water at the end of the pool properly, go to Rigby and Pellar, and there are many more. My friend has 315 things on her list, she is 50 and has calculated that the average female age of death is 83, which means she needs to get her skates on if she is going to get to them all and that’s before she adds any more!

If you liked the quote at the top of the blog here are more.

http://quotations.about.com/od/specialdays/a/newyear3.htm

Wishing you a very happy and healthy new year, and may all your resolutions or intentions come true!