New Year’s Resolutions Anyone?

Who likes to set New Year’s resolutions…and fail to attain them…?

I gave up setting New Year’s resolutions long ago. It is, of course, healthy to have goals that we strive to achieve and plans that we put in place to help us achieve those goals…but when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, why is it that we tend to be either completely unrealistic, or completely vague. It’s either, “I’m going to travel the world next year!” or, “I’m going to change my life next year”…how exactly??

Some time ago, my cousin introduced me to what she called her “ladle list”. I love this idea. You have your “bucket list” items (like travelling the world) that you want to do at some time in, say, the next 10 years or so…then you have your “ladle list”…the smaller, more achievable goals that you might be able to do in the next year or two.

So on my bucket list I have things like starting my own small, home-business and on my ladle list I’ve broken down the steps I need to achieve to make that happen. I also have the usual things like touring Europe and the Mediterranean on my bucket list but I’m starting (I have never been overseas before) with a ladle-list item of a one-week visit to New Zealand in March (tickets are all booked!!)

Personally, I think the bucket and ladle lists are much better than New Year’s resolutions. Firstly, life is changing all the time, not just at the end of one year and the beginning of another; and we need to be able to move with it. Secondly, the majority of us have a tendency to set unachievable or overwhelming New Year’s resolutions and then wonder how the heck we’re going to achieve them…thus setting ourselves up for failure which we then beat ourselves up over. Bucket and ladle lists are ongoing, fluid and everchanging. When our circumstances or goals change, we change our lists. Easy. Nothing to get stressed over or beat ourselves up over. About the only “New Year’s resolution” I have these days is more of a mantra…because I have to keep reminding myself…and that is just to be more mindful. Mindful of where I am, what I’m doing, what I want to be doing and what my impact is (on myself and others)…and that goes for everything…work, home, friends, family, travel, exercise, health, all of it. Being mindful just means being aware and that allows us to make any changes we feel we need to make in our lives, at any time in our lives…rather than having to wait until January 1st.

Happy New Year and welcome to the 20s!!!