New Year’s Resolutions for 2014
As part of our Blackfly Think Positive for 2014 Campaign we asked people around the village about their New Year’s plans and resolutions for 2014 and what they’d like to see for our community. Carol McLaughlin sent this in to us…. providing some wonderful thoughts to ponder as we leap into another New Year!
Some 4,000 years ago, Babylonians rang in their new year with an 11-day festival in March, and ancient Egyptians celebrated the advent of their new calendar during the Nile River’s annual flood. By 46 B.C., Roman emperor Julius Caesar had moved the first day of the year to January 1 in honor of the Roman god of beginnings, Janus, an idea that took some time to catch on. However, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII brought the January 1 New Year back in vogue with the Gregorian calendar — a concept that persists today.
The origin of making New Year’s resolutions rests with the Babylonians, who reportedly made promises to the gods in hopes they’d earn good favour in the coming year.
Every year most people make a New Year’s resolution, why? In my opinion I guess it’s because people may need a way to tally up what we wish for ourselves. Resolutions are a means to listing all of our short comings and a way of reflecting on the past year to determine where perhaps we need improvement. Most importantly, they are a way of erasing mistakes of the past year and starting fresh.
We make promises of good intentions, such as: drink less alcohol, eat healthy food, get a better education, get a better job, get fit and manage debt etc. These are all such positive promises that will improve anyone’s quality of life. These are the resolutions you will hear people talk about. You seldom hear people say “This year I will be a kinder person, I will be more understanding, I will not judge, I will listen more, I will be more positive, If I have nothing nice to say I will hold my tongue, I will forgive” etc.
As you contemplate on this year’s resolution I encourage you to commit to being a mentally fit person, and to just be happy. Time here is precious and limited. Don’t waste it by hating, being cynical and choosing to always look at the glass as half empty. I believe once you’re mentally fit and happy with who you are, then all of those good intentions listed above will be much more attainable.
Reflect on the kind of person you were this past year and ask yourself if you are happy with that person. Were you kind? Even to those who weren’t kind to you? Did you sit back only to criticize, pass judgement and spend more of this past year living in negativity or did you choose to live your life to its fullest potential, appreciating the little things, contributing to positive change and growth?
The time you have here is what you allow it to be. If you feed into negativity then you will live in negativity. Let go of the shoulda, coulda and woulda’s and focus on I can and I will. For every negative response you encounter along the way, find a positive in it and most importantly, express it.
It’s a time for change, it’s a New Year. A New Year for people to set aside differences, for the divided to become at least somewhat united (small steps, meet halfway) stand together, be happy and make the changes needed to make progress happen. I know it’s not really a resolution, but it is a possibility. Perhaps we need to focus on peace and forgiveness instead of giving up dessert.
Below is the definition of Resolution and some thoughts to the word itself.
Resolution
noun
Intention, resolve, decision, intent, aim, plan; commitment, pledge, promise.
Resolve: Find a way to resolve problems instead of adding negativity to them. Yes, there is always a way. Problems are meant to be solved.
Enemy: Forgive your enemy for past wrongs, put it behind you and move forward. Don’t let hate and anger consume you. Make peace with your past so it doesn’t spoil your present.
Stop: Stop complaining and criticizing about situations that make you unhappy. If you don’t like how something is, stop talking about it and change it. Use your energy in be productive instead of destructive.
Opportunity: Opportunities are endless. Don’t let fears and “what if’s” ever hold you back. Instead of focusing on why things won’t work, concentrate on why they will.
Learn: Albert Einstein once said “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Mistakes are part of life experiences and they are the attempt of having the courage to try something new. Learn from them.
Unite: Accept people for who they are, treat them as you wish to be treated. Make your opinion known by using tact and respect. Agree that we may at times disagree. True strength comes from individuals who can put differences aside, unite and accomplish greatness.
Teach: We are the examples for the youth in our community. They watch and learn from our behavior. What have we taught our youth this past year? We can teach them well to be better by being better ourselves. “The first great gift we can bestow on others is a good example.” (Thomas Morell)
Intention: Intend on trying before you quit or judge. Life is a challenge. Meet it.
Overcome: When something bad happens you have three choices. You can either let it define you. Let it destroy you, or choose to overcome it.
New: Start new, it’s time.
