Embracing 2007
Lisa Belkin talks about New Year’s resolutions: the hopes they convey for the days ahead, the disappointment they create as the year draws to a close and we examine personal promises laid fallow. Much of this disappointment comes from setting (and verbalizing) goals that are "too": too grand, too many, too far-reaching. Los Angeles psychologist Robert Butterworth has been on an anti-resolution crusade for the last eight years. He estimates that 80 percent of resolutions have “slipped” by January 24. To increase our chances for success, he suggests that we make a single resolution that is not a complete change in behavior, but rather a subtle shift in course, making it much more attainable.
For as long as I can remember, at both the Jewish New Year and the arrival of each January, my husband has begged, cajoled and advised our two children in the art of making New Year’s resolutions. Stirling says that the process has made her gun shy to this annual ritual.
I, like her, have never found joy in articulating an annual “To Do” list. When I have made resolutions in the last several years, they have been internal dialogues that were more a list of hopes and dreams rather than public declarations.
But this year is different. I plan to fail or succeed in full glory in 2007. I will do exactly what Dr. Butterworth advises us not to do and articulate an overly aggressive list of goals. This is partially due to the lessons of a book I have been reading, The Samurai Leader. It talks about learning to push past fears to truly realize your full potential. After a rather emotionally battering 2006, I found myself paralyzed in the last half of the year by forces over which I felt I had no control. I now realize that you always have control, it is just whether or not you choose to exert it.
So, in this year, I promise that I will not be limited by fear, but motivated by possibilities. I plan to develop the next chapter in my life, professionally and personally, by taking bold steps. And I plan to always remember my "happy thoughts" to keep me grounded in what is really important in life, separating the wheat from the chaff.
For our family, we know with certainty that 2007 will be marked with change and new challenges. I welcome them with gusto. I hope you do as well.
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