I resolve not use the word "resolution" to define any part of my personal life or thinking. Especially related to "goals" or "plans" for the future.
I realize "New Years Resolutions" is a common phrase and idea. I am not picking on anyone who uses it and certainly not trying to throw shade on this thread!
Instead I want to share an idea about how I choose to live life.
The thing is, $#!+ happens! Life is full of plot twists and much of it was not in the script. I deliberately choose not to set any "goal" because I have found that way of life leads to more self recrimination that actually accomplishing anything!
Instead I choose to acknowledge my desires and work towords them as I am able.
I grew up with a parent who tried to pin me and my brother down and define us by goals met or unmet. Our worth was balanced on whether or not we "accomplished" goals that were rather random in nature. Goals largely decided upon by our desire to please the parental unit. And woe to us if we failed in achieving these meaningless tasks. "I thought you were going to...why didn't you? It would behoove you to..."
The truth is, I wake up everyday thinking "what feels happy today?" "What feels good?".
My parental unit was shocked by this. She accussed me of being lazy, unwise and many other, not so nice, things. I was, in her mind, a failure.
But from my perspective, I couldn't understand her at all. Each day was spent fraught with anxiety about "the right deciscion", "accomplished goals and objectives" and worries about her "failures". When I asked her what was the point of these machinations she would always tell me it was "to be happy".
This is the part I don't understand. How can one spend so much time setting ones self up with difficult and impossible tasks in the name of "happiness"? This seems rather contradicory to me. You simply can not find happiness by setting yourself up to be miserable.
So I don't set resolution or goals for myself. Instead I just imagine what might be possible. I will put in the approprite work to bring the possibilities to fruition as long as doing so does not cause me to feel unhappy.
My parental unit would say this is "short sighted". But $#!+ happens! If I spend all my time doing things to be happy in the future, and do not enjoy my present, the time I am actually living, I will have squandered the life I have and never experienced happiness at all. Since "being happy" is the real goal, who is actually "short sighted"?
Well, that all came out of no where! Kudos if you read the whole thing.