New year philosophies

Isn't it funny how everyone looks forward to this day so we can say goodbye to the old year that is soon to pass on and give way to the new hope of tomorrow?

Maybe it is just human nature to hope what is ahead is better than what was. The grass is always greener on the other side thing . . .

It got me to thinking about a good year.  Do you want the good year to never end?  Will the new year and the new hope for tomorrow jinx what has been awesome?

For me, the new year has always been symbolic of a new beginning, a change . . . we make resolutions to make ourselves a better person.  By the way, I gave up on making resolutions a long time ago.  However, for a deep thinker like me, this day has been making me more aware of positive things that will help me be a better person in different ways.

The end of this year has been awesome.  I won't beat a dead horse with the details of the year's beginning. I can only repeat what I always say, "this too shall pass" . . . and it did.

All it really is . . . the normal passage of time that spans from one year to another, one day into another, one minute to the next, one second at a time.

As I become older and wiser, my philosophy has slowly changed.  The Captain has had so much to do with these changes and I'm so grateful to have him in my life.

The new philosophy involves having faith that everything will be ok, for real and accepting whatever comes along as quickly as possible.  It is a deepening of my favorite saying, "this too shall pass."  We don't have control over what happens from day to day.  We do have control over how to react to it.

Happy New Year's Eve . . .

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New Year Resolutions . . . if you must!

Through the years I've written many posts regarding New Year Resolutions.  In my opinion, this yearly ritual is a set up for failure.  They don't work for me, so I try to make incremental changes throughout the year as I deem them necessary.

How about you?  

Facebook is buzzing with everyone's New Year Resolutions that will probably be long forgotten in February.  

Something I find very amusing . . . the weight loss commercials on television that promptly start after Christmas.  Most of them are gone by February!

If you are one of those people who must make resolutions for the new year, I found an article on Real Simple that you may find useful.  The link to the entire article can be found at the bottom of this post.

Some tips to help you achieve your goals:

Be Specific

Vague goals won’t work. “You’ve got to develop a specific action plan for change,” says John Norcross, Ph.D., co-author of Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions ($25, amazon.com). Map out your strategy before New Year’s arrives.

Make Your Goal Public

Share your decision to change with friends and family who can offer support when you’re wavering and encouragement when you’re doing well at sticking to your resolution. “Public commitments are generally more successful than private decisions,” says Norcross.

Substitute Good Behaviors for “Bad”

Don’t rely on willpower alone to help you change, advises Norcross. That approach won’t work. Instead, build in a healthy behavior that’s incompatible with the one you want to change.

Track Your Progress

Record or chart your changed behavior. “Research indicates that such ‘self-monitoring’ increases the probability of keeping your resolution,” says Norcross.

Ready to make your plan? Here are more specific tips on:

How to save money

How to lose weight

How to reduce stress

How to drink less

How to get in better shape

How to get ahead at work

How to improve your relationships

Happy New Year to everyone and good luck with your resolutions!

To view the entire article, click here.

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Sad season!

Being a news junkie with all the bad news of the world made for a very depressing holiday season.

Each year that passes holds the promise that "this will be the year" that I enjoy the holidays again.  However, the blue funk starts right around Halloween to coincide with Christmas being pushed down our throats earlier every year by the retail trade.  

You can't blame them, they are just trying to survive these weak economic times.

This year's news has been unusually disturbing to me.  Ugly politics, fiscal cliffs, a violent hurricane leaving unimaginable devastation and another sad school shooting has done me in.  But, as I sit at my computer writing this post, the news is on the television!

I was going to write a series of posts about the school shooting, gun control and the sad state of mental health . . . but I've seen too much ugliness at other blogs that I just don't want to deal with, so I have decided against it.  I'm not here to be controversial.  There is enough of that on the news!

Needless to say, I've taken a backward turn to the dark side and further away from peace, love and happiness than I care to be.  

I know I'm not alone with these feelings . . . the holiday season is not a happy one for many in this world . . . and I can't imagine anyone going through the season who have been affected by the tragedies we have heard about on the news!

Having said all that, the emphasis for the new year will once again be on optimism and attitude adjustment. I'm so happy the Christmas holiday is over and the symbolic new beginning of a year is upon us!

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Out with the old . . . in with the new

New Years Resolutions are something that I feel set me up for failure.

It's just another night . . . just another day, yet it is so symbolic.  In the past I've referred to the upcoming new year as a new chapter in a book.

Rather than set unrealistic goals and promises to myself, I like to take a look at the year about to end.  

What did I like about it?  

What did I hate about it?  

What would I change if I could?

It is also a good time to assess the daily routine and contemplate making it better.  Streamline the process . . . reminds me of the TQM business management philosophy taught by one of the best friends I have ever had, a professor I worked for many years.  I'll never forget his take on incorporating TQM (total quality management) into daily life.  It is all about continual improvement . . . that is what I always strive for.

The new years resolution posts are all over the blogs this morning with the typical lists of unrealistic goals . . . lose weight, quit smoking . . . blah blah blah.  Wonder what the scientific percentage is of those who actually stick to a new years resolution all the way to next Christmas?

Some of the topics I really liked for consideration in my life . . . some I already do, but need to change the way I approach it.

Identify the one thing that you can accomplish in 2011 which would allow you to call the year a success.

Keep a journal . . . be grateful about 5 simple pleasures every day . . . adopt the Simple Abundance lifestyle.  (I used to do this in a public blog that is now closed, but got away from it even though I am aware daily . . . but I need to get back to writing it down.  It helps to look back.)  The journal is like a conversation within yourself, discussing your feelings on topics of interest to you.  It is the ultimate ramble post . . .

Make a list of 10 simple pleasures you can incorporate into your life on a regular basis.  Examples . . . sitting out on the porch drinking flavored coffee in your favorite mug, visiting the park at least once a week to enjoy nature, give yourself spa days and pamper yourself . . . this one goes along with the journal, where you can discover what that simple pleasures are . . . if you ask yourself the right questions.

I love this one . . . Write down the names of 5 people you admire, whether you know them or not, and then write down why you admire them. Write down what you can do to acquire the traits or characteristics that you admire about these people.

My biggest challenge . . . Go through each room of your house and make a list of 10 items for each room which are currently cluttering up your home.  Get rid of them . . . or give them a new purpose!

The ongoing philosophy of my life is to focus on the quality of my life . . . and figuring out what it takes to make it the best it can be for me.  It isn't something that happens at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve . . . it all happens for me through incremental changes throughout the year . . . and throughout my life.

How about you?

Do you make New Year Resolutions?

Do you usually stick to them?

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New Beginnings

Times Like These ~ Foo Fighters

"Behold, I make all things new."

Rev 21:5

"One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things."

Henry Miller

"The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail."

Napoleon Hill

"Success comes from taking the initiative and following up... persisting... eloquently expressing the depth of your love. What simple action could you take today to produce a new momentum toward success in your life?"

Tony Robbins

In a previous post I mentioned that the start of a new year is much like a new chapter in a book . . . it could also be the start of a new book, depending on the life path and circumstances. Attitude has everything to do with it.

Since starting my new job in the mental health industry, I've been exposed to various ways of thinking . . . from that of the clients as well as my co-workers.

One of the clients has obviously had a miserable holiday season . . . I can relate since I dread them every year since becoming a widow. However, the new year has since marked the end of the dreaded season and my usual optimistic attitude dwells on the hope and positive vibes of that new beginning.

When I mentioned that to the client, he stated that "every day is the same . . . the same ole crap, day after day." He has no hope for change and doesn't see it as a new beginning . . . classic negative thinking that keeps him down and depressed.

I remember thinking how much more sad I would have been all these years if I didn't at least have faith and hope, even though I was disappointed year after year and so tired of falling back into depression and picking myself back up.

New Years Day is just a symbolic day for a new beginning . . . positive thinking, a healthy optimistic attitude and determination to make life a pleasant experience can change from one day to another, no matter what day it is. New beginnings are like that . . . they are a state of mind.

May your day be filled with peace, love and happiness!

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Resolutions and the new year

If we make our goal to live a life of
compassion and unconditional love,
then the world will indeed become a garden
where all kinds of flowers can bloom and grow.

Dr. Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross



My year ended with one of the most chaotic days I've had in recent past. As the ball dropped last night, it amazed me that I had made it without crashing asleep by midnight . . . I had to, it is tradition to see the ball come down.

Many thoughts came to mind in the last minutes of the old year, in particular, last year was the year that finally turned my life around in so many ways. Guess you could say it was my year to return to "normal" life and stop waiting to die after becoming a widow.

God has richly blessed me!

At the moment the new year was born, my thoughts flashed to the future . . . one that has so much hope, promise and finally, the opportunity for everything I have dreamed about. Symbolically, the new year is a new chapter in one's book of life, a new beginning that emerges from one second to another.

This season crept up on me and flew by, leaving me with no time to think about resolutions. For the first time in a very long time, my mind was occupied with so much more than "what if" and hope. The things I had hoped for had already arrived . . . I'm living the life I so desired.

Resolutions are typically broken before February rolls around . . . at least mine have been in the past. The decision was made last night to not make any resolutions.

The quote at the beginning of this post is how I decided to live my life last year . . . it is an ongoing goal . . . as are the three little words I have strived for my entire adult life . . . peace, love and happiness . . . it is all that really matters in the scope of a lifetime.

Happy New Year my friends!

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