ONE Resolution

“You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot ― it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” ― Maya Angelou

___________________

The most common New Year’s resolution for 2026 is exercising more. Other popular resolutions include being happy, eating healthier, saving more money, and improving physical health. ~ Dec 23, 2568 BE ~ GoSkills

____________________

Every year we make lists of what we want to do to make ourselves ‘better people.’ And, most of the time, after a short period of time, our good intentions fade and we end up feeling bad about ourselves, doubting our self-worth.

STOP making lists of New Year’s resolutions. Just STOP.

Only make ONE – Take the time to really think about your life and what you want from it. (Of course, it would be good if you did things to make yourself healthier – and, as a lady who died twice in the hospital on Feb. 11th last year, getting healthier has been one of my main goals – since if I didn’t, I wouldn’t get the CHANCE to keep any other promises to myself.)

In my second chance at life, I want to share Maya Angelou’s quote with you, and I want you to really think about what she is telling us. She is encouraging us to find the positive in life and embrace it. This means shedding all the negative stuff we see, read, and hear on a daily basis about what is happening in the world. It also means looking at things happening in our own personal worlds that are frustrating us, making us angry, scaring us, depressing us – with different eyes.

Some of these things we can do something about. (I ask myself two things: (1) what is the worst thing that can happen as a result of this? and (2) if I ignore this, will it still be a problem in 5 years?) My mom had a saying, “It’s better to do any reasonable thing quickly, than to reach hesitantly for the ideal.”

If I can’t do anything about it, I get busy with other things, consciously thinking about something else to see what happens. What is the point of worrying, over-eating, drinking to forget, stewing about it as it revolves around and around in my head if I can’t solve the problem?

Take time each and every day to think about all the POSITIVE things in your life. This is NOT Pollyanna-ish, this is a survival skill. If you need to at first, write them down as you think of each. Don’t worry about the importance of each. Just be aware of each of them. When you recognize the positives, make only one promise to yourself: “I will recognize all the good, tell others about them, make them the priority of my life, building my life so that I can embrace each thing.” This will result in less tension, acceptance that you cannot control everything, feelings of being grateful for all the things that are wonderful, and encouraging you to create MORE.

Reminder: You are unique. You have experiences and memories that have shaped you. You can use your experiences to learn to see things in different ways, to solve your problems and those of others. You have strength inside you that will get you through life’s challenges. You carry the survival skills of love, appreciation, gratitude, and laughter within you. Embrace the person that is you.