Happy New Years! 2020 is going to be an incredible decade with lots of change for the better. With New Year’s comes the cliché of “New Year, New You” and there’s nothing wrong with that. We’re constantly reinventing ourselves, growing; “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.” We’ve all heard the joke about how crazy the gym is the first week of the New Year.
Word of caution: Don’t make New Years Resolutions that you’re not committed to. If you’re not committed, it’s easy to back out of and stop short of achieving your resolution. That shows your subconscious that it’s ok to throw in the towel and will make it that much harder for you when pushing towards your dreams.
Create resolutions that you’re committed on achieving or at the very least, giving all your effort towards achieving. You may not lose those last 5 pounds but if you give it all you’re effort, it’s going to condition you to give your all to achieving your intentions and trying that much harder.
With that being said, I have a few resolutions for 2020 and beyond:
- Spend less money; this is going to be a challenge!
- Eat Healthier; this will be fairly easy but unfortunately will clash a bit with my first resolution in today’s marketplace.
- Get into better condition: I am not concerned with my weight but would like to improve my shape, so I am healthier.
- Refrain from looking for reasons to be angry.
The first three resolutions are rather self-explanatory and will take conscious effort but not a lot to dive into. Let’s delve a little deeper into the last resolution.
I just recently came to the realization that I look for reasons to be angry and it took me by surprise. As I came to terms with the realization, I realized that others often do this as well. It is similar to the victim mentality in which we look for reason’s things “happened to us” rather than take responsibility for our own actions.
I came to the realization while driving. There is something that truly grinds my gears and that is when someone litters their cigarette butt out of the car. On top of impacting those that don’t share their habit by putting the byproduct of their habit into the environment, there are micro plastics in them that further pollute our waterways and oceans.
Admittedly, I honk my horn far too often. When someone litters in front of me, I honk my horn at them. I realized that it morphed into me watching smokers in front of me in hopes that they would litter so I had a reason to honk at them. How sad is that? I put my anger above the environment! I couldn’t believe myself when I realized it and it made me a little sick.
Then I thought, it’s not just there that I am looking for reasons to be angry. I do it around the house, at the office, everywhere. I consider myself a happy person, I am always (usually) smiling yet even with that, it seems that being angry comes more naturally.
Let’s go a little deeper down the rabbit hole. What are the impacts of that anger? It impacts my overall mood and attitude; external from the car itself, our attitude has the single most influence on our gas mileage. That anger has a negative impact on my health and causes unnecessary stress. It also impacts my communication with others which has an impact on just about everything. Most of our (humanity) feuds and misunderstandings stems from ineffective communication.
Considering all that, I am excited! Now that I have made the realization, I can be conscious about it. It will take time and effort to improve, but I have already begun working on it.
I ask you, are you looking for reasons to be angry? If so, what else is that impacting? Are you happy and motivated? How may we flip that around and have a positive impact on everything around us and help create a better tomorrow?
As always, please let me know your thoughts. Let’s have a dialogue and come up with some possible solutions for a better tomorrow.
Keep Smiling,
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