A Better New Year’s Resolution
Yesterday I decided to do a search on “New Years Resolutions + Gratitude” and was pleasantly surprised at the results. The first result I clicked on was entitled A Better New Year’s Resolution by Charles H. Green. It was from 2006 but is as relevant today as ever. Charles wrote (paraphrased a bit here):
My unscientific sampling says many people make New Year’s resolutions, but few follow through. Net result—unhappiness.
I heard another idea: replace the New Year’s Resolution List with a New Year’s Gratitude List.
He went on to list the following reasons why it makes sense.
1. Most resolutions are about self-improvement which are rooted in a dissatisfaction (or even stronger) with oneself or others. The stronger the issue, the stronger the resolution and the more disappointing when they go unfulfilled.
2. Happy people do better. Now verified by science (and long maintained by religion and psychology and common sense). Optimistic people do better in life and are viewed as more attractive to other people. You empower what you fear and attract what you put out.
Ergo, replace resolutions with gratitude. The best way to improve oneself is paradoxical—start by being grateful for what you already have. That turns your aspirations from negative (fixing a bad situation) to positive (making a fine situation even better).
Finally, gratitude calms us. We worry less. We don’t obsess. We attract others by our calm, which makes our lives connected and meaningful. And before long, we tend to smoke less, drink less, exercise more, gossip less, and so on. Which of course is what we thought we wanted in the first place.
Many thanks to Charles for writing such a thoughtful, timeless piece.
I also stumbled across this more recent blog post by Dennis Ryan entitled New Year’s Resolutions - Gratitude. I love what he wrote here:
I still hope to run a sub-4hr marathon. I still plan to control my sweet tooth. I will continue to search for the aromas and tasting notes in my wines. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open to career callings. But my attention will be on the journey and being thankful for the opportunity to participate.
Finally, I came across this article entitled “An attitude of gratitude for a better new year” by Sevak Khodabakhshian on the Ventura County Star, who focuses on gratitude being a key to success. He writes (again, paraphrased):
If your New Year’s resolution is to be healthier, an attitude of gratitude may be the vital link to your success.
Psychologists know that our actions are driven by our persistent thought patterns. It is therefore logical to deduce that whatever our thoughts are focused on will likely manifest in our lives.
By simply becoming aware of our continual thoughts, and mindfully engaging in the daily practicing of positive affirmations, we’ll find an attitude of gratitude will likely emerge.
What are your resolutions? Is gratitude part of them? Send us your thoughts and we’ll post them here to inspire other readers.
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