Just a little observation about 2017, and how we can best utilize 2018. Don’t jump all over me.
Note: I started this within the final forty minutes of 2017, because of what I’ve seen this year. I’d like to think we could all learn something from 2017, and resolve for a better 2018.
2018 has arrived, and with that, we’ve kicked 2017 to the curb. New year, fresh start, new me, new you, new everyone. A chance for new-ness. A chance to start over.
We make the standard resolutions every year – resolve to lose weight, quit smoking. And every year, resolutions are broken early on. For those that succeed, it is a huge accomplishment.
I don’t make resolutions. I never have. I do that because I’m aware of what I need to change, fix, and improve upon. I don’t need a resolution, I need a goal. That’s how I stay focused.
Do people make resolutions about finding the positive in life, and not complaining, freaking out, and predicting that the worst year ever is upon them? Because by mid-January, I already see the usual suspects on Facebook complaining. Something has royally aggravated them on the news, and the world is coming to an end. Unless you have a legitimate health concern or a problem that directly impacts you or the ones you love, then things probably aren’t so bad.
I’ve been battling foot injuries (arthritis, partial Achilles rupture, plantar fascitis, pain in general) and sinus infections for pretty much all of 2017. Mostly, it is a battle of the foot. I racked up plenty in medical costs for the year. But guess what? My year was great. I went on two vacations, went to two conventions, moved in with my boyfriend, my blog hit 1000 posts in November (18 months after I moved it to WordPress), and I came out of my comfort zone and made videos where people have to see my face. Did I mention the moving in with my boyfriend part, the part where I went on vacation twice, and two conventions? Did you see me talk about my foot injuries being the end of the world, or the sinus infections I had to deal with this year?
No, I mentioned them at the beginning because those were the most negative things to happen this year. They suck, but they’re not the game-changer. I also am aware that people have much bigger problems. I don’t say any of this to diminish bigger health concerns. I say this to diminish supposed “life problems.”
If 2016 was the year that everyone hated everybody else, unfriended family members and close friends on Facebook, or just ridded their lives of people who didn’t think the way they did on a political level (even though they had plenty in common otherwise), 2016 handed off the torch to 2017 and said “keep going until you get to the finish line!” The finish line, my friends, is the end of 2017. And that’s where it should be left. Where it all should be left. In 2017.
So, for 2018, let’s consider the following (for what it’s worth!):
Let’s resolve to think more positively, to care about others, and to find the commonalities and not argue about our differences.
Smile more
Think positively.
Worry about bigger problems.
Stop hating on others, picking on them, and telling others they don’t matter. Everyone matters.
Cheer on accomplishments of yourself and others. Don’t say, “you’ll do better next time.” Show you’re proud of someone.
Embrace what makes us different, and celebrate those differences.
Prioritize yourself.
Have a family? Take care of yourself, so you can help care for them.
Be a good sibling, child, cousin, niece/nephew, aunt/uncle, friend, neighbor.
Try something different, and out of your comfort zone – something as small as trying a new food, or something as big as an experience.
Rid yourself of toxic anything in your life – people and environment. No one deserves to have anything holding them in a place that makes them ill, mental or physical.
Stop ridding your life of friends you have commonalities with. I got unfriended in 2016 and 2017 by people who felt nothing we had in common mattered more than who I voted for. That’s not how it works. I resolved not to do that to people when I knew we agreed about other things.
(By the way, I broke this consideration because someone was upsetting me, and it was taking its toll).
If something isn’t worth worrying about, then don’t worry about it.
Find productive ways to eliminate stress.
Surround yourself with people who you can have fun with. Don’t worry about political affiliation, differences, or anything. They matter to you for other reasons, so that’s why you should be around them.
BE NICE. It’s not as hard as you think.
(Ok, sometimes it is. But for the sake of argument, can you try? I will!)
And last, but certainly (definitely!) not least…
Don’t be a jerk. No one likes jerks.
(Seriously, who wants to hang out with a jerk?)
Those last two have the scent of early elementary respectful classroom rules, but sometimes you need to dig into your that lexicon to show people who to be a better person. We lose touch with the important ways to be a better person when we refuse to try being a better person.
In 2018, let’s strive to be better people.
It’s now 9 minutes and counting to the ball drop. Who will you be in 2018? Use today to find out, and carry it through the year with you!
Happy New Year!
Allison's Written Words