It’s the new year (make that “new decade”), a time for reflecting on the past and anticipating things to come.
In last weekend’s post, I linked to an article about choosing resolutions that you can accomplish in one day. I think it’s a brilliant idea. Imagine the satisfaction you can get from resolutions that you are able to realize in manageable chunks of time. As the writer, Mallory Rice, points out, her resolution was a small piece of a larger goal. It’s much the way I approach a very large project at work. I tackle small pieces, chipping away at the whole and feeling good about getting things done. Eventually the big project is complete.
Exercise is always one of my goals and I want to exercise more this year. On the morning of January 1st, I thought that my one-day goal should be to get outside and take a long walk. New England cold, even on a mild day, can be off-putting to a lazy, last-day-of-vacation, stayed-up-until-2-a.m. slug. Sitting in a comfy chair in front of a fire was making it easy to put off that walk. Eventually my husband and I got motivated, put on our sneakers and had a nice long walk. The reward, besides realizing the one-day resolution, was a stop at a local coffee shop, where we ran into friends and had a nice visit before walking home.
May many more one-day goals be realized this year.
Here are some inspiring words of wisdom and good news to reflect on as we embark on the year 2020.
- These quotes from Toni Morrison.
- “Can’t nobody fly with all that shit. You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.” Song of Solomon
- “Make up a story… For our sake and yours forget your name in the street; tell us what the world has been to you in the dark places and in the light. Don’t tell us what to believe, what to fear. Show us belief’s wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fear’s caul.” The Nobel Lecture In Literature, 1993
- This little reminder to listen completely. About listening and observing. Isn’t listening sometimes hard?
- Uncompetitive Purposefulness and Infinity Cake reminds me “… that the accomplishments of others aren’t to the detriment of our own.”
- Want to Feel Better? Create Something — To simply feel the joy and satisfaction in the act of creating.
- The Strangest Person in the World — It’s okay to be flawed and we are all a little strange. Good to keep in mind.
- Ira Glass’s commencement speech to the 2018 graduates of Columbia’s journalism school. There is so much great advice in this speech.
- 99 Good News Stories You Probably Didn’t Hear About in 2019 offers hope that positive things are happening even when they aren’t the front page headlines.
- Beautiful News Daily posts positive infographics and data visualizations sharing good news about the world. This can help balance the barrage of negativity in our daily news sources.
Related Posts
Here are some of my older new year posts.