NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS (again)


 
Once again, a new year begins, and with it the familiar list of unfulfilled resolutions: we did not persevere with our fitness programme; we only attended English classes for a couple of weeks; we gained some weight, and we remain just as trapped in old routines as in previous years…

And more than a quarter of a century of this new century has already gone by.

Are we incapable of changing?
Do we lack willpower, or do we aim too high when we formulate our resolutions?

Perhaps the problem does not lie in us, but in the method we use.

The self we are today did not appear overnight. It has been shaped over the years, since childhood, and has become a compact block of habits and routines—almost like a computer faithfully executing the instructions it has absorbed along the way.

But change does not mean cancelling that programme and starting from scratch. It means introducing small improvements that lead to new, more pleasant, richer and more satisfying ways of living.

The suggestion is simple: choose twelve small resolutions and devote one full month to each of them, focusing your attention and effort there. In January, a single change. In February, with that first habit already in place, introduce a second one. And so on.

In this way, by the end of the year we will not have accomplished heroic feats, but something far more effective: we will have changed our everyday way of living.

We will then have become… a renewed person.

Here are twelve proposals as examples. You can write your own and arrange them according to the level of difficulty you assign to each. It is wise to start with what is easiest—confidence, too, can be trained.

My twelve proposals:

  1. Be the programmer of your daily life
    Decide which activities you will do, which TV programmes you will watch, which places you will visit.

  2. Set a concrete goal for every task you undertake
    Time devoted, length of the task, first step to take.

  3. Take on a fixed commitment
    A household task for which you are solely responsible.

  4. Take care of a small space in your home
    A corner, a plant, a garden.

  5. Set aside a moment of silence
    Just a few minutes; no long “meditation” is required.

  6. Increase your contact with nature
    Gardens, parks, forests, the beach.

  7. Pay attention to your body
    Healthy movement, mindful eating, sufficient rest.

  8. Cultivate a relationship
    Listen better, be more attentive to the other person, appreciate small gestures.

  9. Learn something new purely for pleasure
    Read about an unfamiliar topic, learn a word in another language, begin a manual or artistic activity.

  10. Put things in order and let go
    Get rid of what is unnecessary: objects, papers, commitments that no longer make sense.

  11. Practise gratitude
    Develop the habit of recognising what you receive and giving thanks for it.

  12. Review your resolutions regularly
    And notice the new person you are becoming.

Life is not a destination to be reached, but a path travelled through different stages. What truly transforms us is not “arriving”, but learning as we walk.

Happy holidays, and best wishes for the coming new year.

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