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With each turn of a new year, turns a page in the book of our lives, we tend to reminisce about the past, and how we filled them with the dos and don’ts, the shoulds and shouldn’ts, the what ifs, and the “shit!” I can’t believe I did or didn’t do this or that. And so, we start to make resolutions, some make them serious: like lose weight, quit smoking, become more religious...etc, and other make them silly: like greet every day like it’s a new day, smile to everyone, or just wear pink, because apparently pink is the new you. Resolutions, I believe, are our way to set ourselves up for disappointment. The problem with a resolution is, that mostly it is time associated, and more often with a beginning time line, Ya3ni, you will not find anyone who will start the resolution at 7:36 pm or 8:21 am mathlan, its at least tomorrow, if not the next week, then maybe the next month, or the beginning of next year. That there is how we give ourselves an excuse to continue doing whatever we want to stop doing. And it is how we set ourselves up to fail. Decisions, on the other hand are the most effective form of resolution. You make that decision to stop eating, and you stop eating now, you don’t wait for tomorrow or the next week, because that intensity is lost by then, if you are 100% sure you want to quit now, tomorrow you are 90%, and while it is still high a percentage, that 10% more room to fail. They say: Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today. So, my resolution for this year is not to have a resolution, but to make more decisions!
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New Year Resolutions are sometimes more of a conversation starter at New Year parties, rather than a voluntary and actionable will to change. So the primary goal should be focused on the word ‘New’ to trigger an actual need to change rather than think of how interesting it would be for others to hear about. For this to happen, one would need inspiration, as with standing on a student desk in the movie “Dead Poets Society” to be able to have a different vantage point to enable seeing what really needs to be changed. Second, a timeline or some form of measurement scheme would be needed to both command and track progress, as Al Pacino said “a man needs a count for balance” in the movie Scent of a Woman. Finally, the thing changed has to make a difference to yourself or if you are lucky, to the world as in “one man makes a difference” in the series Night Rider, with the beautiful Pontiac Firebird Trans Am “Kitt”. To summarize, in making a change and to make it last, one would need to be a hero. A hero for oneself and oneself only, so one becomes the star as in the above examples. And remember, a hero always, always gets the job done. How is that for a conversation starter?
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I usually set goals that are attainable. The motivation to proceed with the goal is seeing myself achieving it. Also it is important to set a realistic goal that matches with my day-to-day routine, lifestyle, career, personality, age and physique. For example, I do not set a goal for myself to run the marathon this year while I never ran more than 4 laps around the soccer field; this is called a far-fetched goal. I would rather set a realistic goal that practicality allows me to achieve such as; “this year I would like to increase the level of sports activities in my life”. This way, I know my goal is to increase sports activities in my daily life and generalize it in order not to constrain myself with certain activities and time, taking into consideration that I am a working mother with a tight daily schedule. So I would sometime go for a long walk with my child in the stroller and some other time I would be on the treadmill for at least 30 minutes every day or every other day, or play tennis or go for a dance class. This way the alternation of physical activity to fit my daily schedule and fitting my mood as well creates opportunity for me to achieve my goal without feeling the guilt of not doing what I was supposed to do or feel discouraged that I am not a goal achiever…
It was a year where the action kicked off fairly early with what is referred to as the Arab Spring. Mubarak’s regime was toppled and we all dreamt of a new beginning. Earthquakes and Tsunami’s in Asia were followed by a fairytale wedding at Westminster Abbey. But the wedding bell bliss was quickly overlooked when the world’s most wanted bad guy, Ossama Bin Laden was killed during an American military operation in Pakistan. More drama in the Middle East followed and then the brutal death of Libya’s tyrant Muammar Gaddafi. But there was a breath of fresh air when UNESCO finally admitted Palestine, and sadly we now have one of the USA republican presidential hopefuls calling them an ‘invented’ state. Where does it all end? So frankly speaking, looking ahead to next year, it’s an intimidating picture. The Arab uprisings are transforming into civil wars, Europe is on the brink of economic disaster. Confidence is low and everybody seems to want to draw the curtain on 2011 and start again with a clean slate. For me it’s not so much about the New Years resolution or a balance between far-fetched aspirations – it’s more about finding a psychological momentum to overcome obstacles with greater ease and a stronger will…
