You know, the time of year when we pretend that an arbitrary mark on a human creation for tracking the movements of the earth on its axis and around the sun means we can become a different person.
A whole new you. Shinier. Better. Healthier. Calmer. SOMEthing-er.
As a teen I made lists of the many ways in which I was going to upgrade myself to some impossible external standard really only achievable via airbrushing and lies.
Not that I think there's anything wrong with setting goals or trying to change or improve. But "Live Your Best Life" is a pretty high bar. Exhausting, really. Some days it's a win if it I lived My Pretty Darn Good Life, or even My Reasonably Acceptable Life Given that It's Only Tuesday.
And I'm one of the very fortunate ones. I have someone to love who loves me back, children who bring me joy and some -- ahem -- insights into my tendencies, a job I enjoy that I'm good at and in which I make a difference, a solid home, easy access to healthy food, clean water to drink and hot water in which to bathe, transportation choices, an extended family and friends who can give help if I need it -- on and on. So much goodness. So many things that make my life easier rather than harder.
I'm not going to make resolutions with a capital R. As Betsy says (I quote Betsy pretty often), if you think of something you want to change you could just do it now, not wait for January 1 as if that date has some kind of magical quality.
I am going to make some lists of More/Less.
More forgiving. Less absolute.
More realistic. Less all-or-nothing.
More pragmatic. Less puritanical.
Like this:
MORE LESS
Salad Sugar
Moving Sitting
Mindfulness Impulse
Kindness Judging
Sleep Late-night reading
This is a start and doesn't include every idea I had in thinking about this structure. What would you put on your version of this list?
Related reading
- Give Your Power to Truth: What Story Are You Writing for Your Life?
- Showing Up
- Keep that Streak Going: #30DaysOf Something that Matters to You
- Kindness Matters (Jan. 1, 2018)
- Biking as Downtime: Musings on Overproductivity
- 30 Days of Biking, Day 20: Purpose
- Being Thankful (Mindful) Every Day
- The Words You Speak
- I Suppose It Takes All Kinds: Musings on Human Behavior
- Head, Heart, Hands, and Health
- Eating Shoots and Leaves: Real Food, not Bad Grammar
- Stuff I Didn't Do Today, or, I Know what Happiness Tastes Like
- 3 Things My Mother Taught Me
- One Word for 2014: Purpose
- One Word for 2014 Bicycling
- One Word for 2014
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