New Year’s Day: It’s time to reveal our resolutions for the coming year.
My research assistant, Ms. Google, found out that, according to The History Channel, the Babylonians first started making annual resolutions 4,000 years ago. They made these promises during their religious festival Akitu. If the Babylonians kept their word during the coming year, the gods would favor them. If not, well…
I’m glad that I have not been held accountable to God for not keeping my resolutions, most of which over the years have revolved around weight loss.
Reflection and goal setting are, however, worthwhile exercises. This year in particular we have a new incentive to start anew and really question what we want out of life.
Now 73, the reality of actuarial longevity tables is becoming all too clear as my peers are beginning to disappear. Time is of essence here.
There are huge disparities of wealth, income, natural abilities, and opportunities, not only here in the U.S., but around the world. There is no inequality, however, in the number of minutes in a day. Rich or poor, we all get 1,440.
So how should one resolve to spend this precious limited resource?
Steven Covey In his best-selling Seven Habits book recommends we become “Response-Able.” Covey tells the story of Viktor Frankl who was in a Jewish concentration camp run by Nazis in WW2. Somehow Frankl was able to control his mental state and his own behaviors even though he was imprisoned and tortured.
I believe Covey was telling us that even in the worst of circumstances when we cannot control what happens to us, we can control how we choose to respond.
Choice of course is really what New Year’s Resolutions come down to. The biggest choice we have is how we spend our time.
Time can be spent in two ways, by “doing,” or in “being.” My entrepreneurial son Jamie often asks me, “What did you do today Dadio?” Often I struggle to give a clear response.
We as a society place a very high value on doing. There are many times when I find it equally as important to just be. BE present, BE helpful, BE respectful and most of all, to BE kind.
2020 was a doozie. Sadly, 2021 promises an horrific start. The thousands of multi-generational Christmas/Holiday family gathering pictures posted on Facebook will most likely translate to even more hospitalizations and pre-mature deaths of loved ones.
Just last week a classmate of mine passed away unexpectedly when the ICU at her local hospital did not have room for her. She had to be helicoptered to another hospital but sadly did not survive the flight.
Soon almost every family will have a loved one or friend impacted in some way by the pandemic. Many will weather the storm and be back to “normal” soon. Some will have only minor symptoms. Some will die.
Just what you needed to start the year – a total downer.
Bear with me. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccines are being distributed as I write this. The promise of change and a new beginning is real and foreseeable this year.
Regardless of what happens, good or bad, we do have some ability to choose how we respond.
With this dual (Good and bad, but still hazy) picture in mind for the coming year, I hereby make the following New Year’s Resolutions for 2021:
To be kind;
to be forgiving;
to be cautious;
to be flexible;
to speak out;
and yes, once again, to lose a few pounds.
Happy New Year!
Jim, I recently listened to Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning and found it both astounding and inspiring. Of your resolutions, I noted “forgiving” as probably my greatest and most urgent challenge right now as I try to maintain relationships with loved ones who are ardent Trump supporters. As for resolutions, like David, I am called to “act out”, now more than ever. Here’s how I responded to our local paper, the Savannah Morning News’ appeal for readers to submit their resolutions for the city:
I earnestly wish for Savannah to be the city we need it to be by:
1) enforcing Mayor Van Johnson’s efforts to “make Savannah safer, equitable and accessible for all”.
2) The REAL Task Force (Racial Equity and Leadership) will identify and dismantle city policies and procedures that have resulted in unequal outcomes.
3) All employers will pay a LIVING WAGE at minimum.
4) More affordable housing will be made available.
5) SCAD will contribute to Savannah financially for the free services that cover its growing non-taxable campus.
6) DA Cook-Jones will enact procedures and programs that will reduce childhood trauma, non-violent incarceration, unfair cash bail for low level offenses, and overhaul the plea bargain process.
7) The bridge over the Savannah River will carry a woman’s name, known internationally for her positive influence in countless young girls’ lives, Juliette Gordon Low.
Thanks for the input Ann. I am not exactly sure on your local issues, but I think your letter makes a lot of sense and I commend you for your actions. Hang in there, the ride ahead is sure to be bumpy. Best always, Jim
Jim – Thanks for your well-considered thoughts and resolutions for the New Year…. I intended to get a little more specific about my own before the ball descended in Times Square tonight and you have spurred me on. To your beautiful list at the end I would only add “to act out;”. I am hoping that we have turned a corner in this country and more people are conscious of the challenges we face and the limited time for some of us to act in. Also, having lost some girth over the last year due to health issues, I am vowing to maintain my pounds. Happy New Year to you and Marianne, too!
Thanks for the feedback David. Best to you and Pat in the coming year!