New Year’s Resolutions

Many of the blogs I read are listing their new year’s resolutions and encouraging their readers to make the same.  I don’t  make New Year’s resolutions.  I have found that it does not work well for me to pick a date on which I will stop doing a bad habit or try to incorporate a good new habit.

My best results have come from making a change when I feel strongest about making a change.  When I am feeling sorry for myself or disappointed, that is when I feel the strongest conviction that I want my life to be different.  It usually also corresponds to feeling out of control and unable to change.  However, it is the best time to concentrate that tiny amount of willpower and make one small change in the direction you want to go.

I will admit that I am not fond of going to the dentist.  I really don’t like brushing my teeth.  It felt pointless when I got a lecture at the dentist’s office and had to have cavities filled whether I brushed or not.  Eventually, I hit a low point with an infected spot where I had bit my tongue.  I decided then that I  was already wasting time in front of the mirror each day on vanity.  I basically offered myself a deal that if I wanted to continue primping in front of the mirror, I had to also brush my teeth.  It has taken a few years and some backsliding, but my mouth is fairly healthy.

I did not promise to take better care of my teeth following the next appointment.  I do not know how many times I made myself that promise and failed.  I did not make a resolution to do better in the new year.  I made a change, a small change, on the day I was feeling terrible.  The key is to make a small change and go do it now.

It is the fifth of January and there are probably a lot of broken resolutions already.  Now is the time to say you failed yesterday but that is okay because now you choose to succeed.

Today, while the kids are crying for supper and you’ve stubbed your toe, and the microwave blew up, stop for a moment and do something to take better care of yourself.  Take a deep breath, bundle the kids up for a quick stroll down the block and back, or gather the kids and tell them a story.  A healthy mom is a better mom for her kids, and you do not need to wait for New Year’s Day 2010 to make a resolution to make some time for yourself.

Happy New Year!

Advertisement