Resolutions Anyone?

Each year, for at least the last 20 years, my New Year's resolution has been consistent. I have resolved not to make any New Year's resolutions.

Why? They can be hard to maintain let alone remember; they can be vague or unrealistic; or years like 2020 can come along and throw everything into the hopper, thus thoroughly blurring focus and priorities.

Do I have goals?

Sure I do!

I always do.

Without goals I could become intractably complacent.

I probably have too many goals. But resolutions? Not so much.

This year however, I did make one. I thought I'd step outside my own self-created box, and break my own mold. My resolution this year was to take a shower and be dressed and ready to go, bright eyed and bushed notwithstanding... before noon today. I accomplished my resolution by 10:32! After looking at my closet wardrobe of sweats and jammie pants, I even slipped into a pair of blue jeans. I considered putting on socks and tennis shoes for a switch, instead of my favorite slippers, but I decided to cut myself some slack. Nonetheless, I'm good, and now I'm set to move forward with hope and positivity into 2021, having begun with this epic moment of success.

But for those of you not like me, I have some ideas regarding resolutions. I really put a lot of thought into this this morning while I was in the shower.

Any of you familiar with teaching know that educators have often been required to design lessons and instructional units around SMART goals. This acronym, for educational purposes, generally stands for..

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

This is how I propose we look at resolutions. What could potentially change would be what the letters stand for. The new non-educational resolution-based model could include the following options:

Specific, Sensitive, Selfish, Spending time with others

Measurable, Malleable, or Make no excuses

Actionable, Attainable, Allow yourself some wiggle room

Realistic, Robust, Really impressive

Time-aware - for beginning, maintaining, and following through

(If you have any acronym suggestions, please feel free to send them to me and I will add them to this list!)

However you choose to approach New Year's resolutions, do make sure you take a moment to reflect on everything that brought you to where you are right now to see how all of that drives your thoughts, plans, and goals.

Although I could shift into my eloquent mode here, and wax on about gratitude and reflection, I read a short article last night that just summed things up perfectly in my mind.

Ellen Barry, New England Bureau Chief of the New York Times, wrote:

"Every year on Dec. 31, the approach of midnight finds us drawing a line in time. The way we do this varies – we eat black eyed peas, or fling open the windows, or run into an icy ocean - but the idea is always the same. On this night, we put something behind us and seal it off, so it is part of the past. And then we try to begin again.

It is difficult to imagine any year when our need of this ritual has been greater. Many of us have lost those dearest to us, and absorbed those losses in isolation. Livelihoods have been wiped away like vapor from a window. And yet, without the fireworks, the giddiness of crowds, we have never been so constrained in our rituals.

That does not mean we are not celebrating. Inside lighted rooms, we will raise glasses to the people who sacrificed for us, to the triumphant performance of our health care workers, and to a thousand small kindnesses already receding from memory. Yeah, yeah, the end of a year may be an illusion, just a way to trick ourselves into keeping going. But we made it."

I don't know that I could have said it better myself!

So here's to the new year, to new challenges, to new opportunities, to peace. We all remain in this together, so let's boldly go forth with love in our hearts, and optimism in our souls, and make it really count!