Happy Friday and Happy New Year! As is customary around this time of renewal, I’m thinking about resolutions and things to improve in 2018. I tend to make resolutions around my birthday, but in this edition of the Friday 5, I’m going to share current or past resolutions that have been helpful in my life. I would also love to hear from you what some of your most successful resolutions have been.
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Splurge…
…on books. When making purchases, I’m usually pretty reticent. One type of purchase I rarely balk at is the purchase of a book. Even if I just get one important nugget out of it that improves my life or my thinking in some way, I consider it to be a worthwhile buy. You can even try and focus your reading. For example, this year I’m trying to read many of the great psychologists like Jung, Adler, and Rogers.
Purge
As life goes on and as it becomes easier and easier to collect stuff (for many of us, instruments!), it can happen that we become possessed by our possessions. Although I claim no expertise in this (I’m definitely a work in progress), I periodically go through all my stuff and get rid of all but that which I truly love. A book that presents a nice process for this is called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. After one of these cleansing sessions, I always feel great and operate at my best.
Resist the Urge…
…to drink soda. There is a lot of sugar in that stuff, not to mention other ugly substances that are now shown to be pretty awful for us. I wouldn’t recommend this if I hadn’t experienced positive benefits of getting off soda. When I stopped drinking Coke about 8 years ago, I lost weight and my energy levels evened out (instead of big ups and downs). Look into it, give it a try.
Take massive amounts of responsibility for your life
I risk sounding preachy here, and I know there are some things outside our control. But often we are waaaay more responsible for our behaviors, perceptions and elicitations of others’ behaviors, and reactions to circumstance than we like to believe. Taking massive amounts of responsibility results in greater reflection and growth,
Be the composer of your life
It’s easy to get caught up in the daily routines and habits of life. Don’t forget about your big goals and dreams – what do you want to look back on in 5, 10, 20 years from now and be proud of? What are the smallest steps you can take to start making progress?
Happy New Year!
Matt
PS
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