New Year’s Resolutions

You know what I hate about New Year’s resolutions? They are more than a little defeatist. Think about it. At first you’re all like, “I’m gonna totally and completely change my life!” You do okay with your impossible goals for a couple days, maybe weeks, but then you slip up. And that slip up leads to another, then another, then a bunch more until finally you give up on them mall together and feel like a complete failure, gain 100 pounds, lose your job, move in with your parents, and spend all day searching for grumpy cat memes.

cat-meme

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, that got real. Sorry. I’m not sure where that came from.

Anyway, here’s the point: New Year’s Resolutions suck. But I still feel some kind of pull to better myself…dang it.

A few years ago a friend of mine shared what he does instead of making unrealistic goals. He choses a word. A single word. And that word becomes his guide for the whole year. As an example, last year my word was “Present” – as in I would be “in the now” with my decisions.

This year I had a kind of spiritual experience in selecting my word. I was on vacation in California with my kiddos and wifey and driving back I kept seeing this word graffitied everywhere. The word: AWARE. I don’t know if it’s a brand name something, or a band, or whatever but I do know that I saw it graffitied on a water tower, an overpass, a huge rock, and a billboard. The last time I saw it, it hit me like a ton of bricks. This is my word for the year. I am going to be AWARE. For me that means being aware of people around me. Focus outward.

So here’s to hoping your 2017 is full of change. Realistic change.