Here we are friends, facing the end of another year. Older? Certainly. Wiser? Ask me on any given day and the answer may change. Learning? Daily. Happier? Unquestionably. Unfinished? I am a walking construction zone.
I am not a fan of the New Year’s Resolution. I am, however, a fan of reserving some quiet moments to reflect upon the year gone by. A mental inventory-taking, if you will, to take stock of where I have been, what I have accomplished, and what I have yet to do.
I do not set goals on the first of January. I find that my odds for success increase exponentially when I decide on the spur of the moment to commit to a change or a new project. For instance, for reasons still unknown but gratefully accepted, I quit smoking without prior plans on a Tuesday in May of 2012. This after I cannot even count the number of failed attempts to quit on New Year’s Eve that resulted in my smoking an extra pack on New Years Day. On another random Tuesday, this one in mid-September of 2014, I held my breath and plunged into the world of blogging (my thankfulness for this is revisited daily). Again, after countless years of starting each new year with a fresh journal that would inevitably wind up with two or three sad, lonely entries.
No, I will not be making any grand resolutions. I will instead keep my goals and to-do lists on the current unscheduled rotation. I will continue to set mini-challenges for myself so that I do not become overwhelmed by a laundry list of things I need to fix, or do better, or do more, or do less. Instead I will approach this fresh new year with this type of thinking…
I will muster up a truckload of…
And I will rely heavily on my friends, family, and this…
To achieve this…
I will try not to offer up any too many of these…
Yet I will be gentle with myself, remembering that I am a…
I look forward to whatever is coming my way, and I am beyond thankful to have you all here to share the journey. I wish for all of you a happy and healthy…
Cheers!
Karen
Fill Your Own Glass 
I loved this! A fan of taking quiet moments to look back myself, this spoke right to my odd end-of-year nostalgia and excitement for the coming year. May your 2015 be a growth-full adventure!
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Thank you! I wish you a wonderful 2015 as well! 🙂
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Great! I am all for mini challenges instead of big resolutions… Happy New Year to you and yours!!!!
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Thanks Lia, and I wish the same to you! I look forward to many more of your New York photos and real-life-captured moments in the new year! 🙂
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I completely agree with your thoughts for quiet reflection. We take the first few weeks of each new year to seek God’s direction,plan and will for our lives as we enter the next calendar year. If He has something for me to work on it gets priority. May the new year be filled with peace and blessing for you and those you love.
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Oh my, I like that concept a lot. I may just need to reflect and let my direction come to me. I wish you all the best for the coming year!
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Lovely post, as always!
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Thank you, and I wish you a fun year ahead chasing gazelles (and perhaps even becoming one)! 🙂
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It is funny Karen, I have started a new year with a fresh journal SO many times, and would only muster up a few entries.
Hope you have a GREAT year ahead! 🙂
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Haha, I can only guess that we are not alone in that! I like the accountability that blogging brings to me. I don’t want to let down the awesome loyal people who take their time to read my words. I wish you and yours a happy & exciting 2015!
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I love this. Small bites are so much more digestable than entire feats!
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Yes! Nothing intimidates me more than a buffet, so I’ll stick with a few appetizers. 😉 Happy New Year!
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A girl living like I do…one day, one moment, one goal at a time and a pause at the end to look back at the amazing road I’ve just traveled! Awesome!
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Kindred spirits- I am in good company indeed! Wishing you all good things in the year ahead! 🙂
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Congratulations on the successes you have achieved so far Karen. I agree that making resolutions in the New Year is doomed to fail! Taking things one step at a time is a much more sensible idea and much ore likely to succeed,
I wish you all the best for continued success in 2015 and look forward to following your progress! 🙂
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I wish the same for you, my friend! Let’s see just how much we can do in this new year!
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What a great New Year’s post. Personally, I don’t know anyone who actually has success with New Year’s resolutions, they just sets people up for failure. But daily goals, weekly goals–those are do-able (at least they’re more do-able for me.) So here’s to more good weeks then disappointing ones in 2015 😉
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I will drink to that! I am looking forward to many more of your amazing cartoons in 2015! 🙂
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Well said. A calendar date is meaningless if the motivation isn’t truly there, which is something I wish I could tell all the New Year’s Resolutioners who will be swarming my gym again in January only to dwindle and disappear by February…
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Too true, my husband complains about the spike in the crowd at his gym in January, then it is inevitably back to normal by February. I work out at Karen’s home gym for introverts, and the membership stays stable there. Happy 2015 to you! 🙂
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I’ve seen a lot of resolution posts on blogs I follow but I like the idea of a quiet reflection of the past year more. Happy New Year Karen and good luck with all of your goals… whenever you decide to set them!
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Thank you! Wishing a Happy 2015 to you & yours, and of course I am looking forward to reading many more of your adventures and acclimation this side of the pond!
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I like this, I’ve never been a fan of the NY resolution, preferring to take the stance, ‘if you want to change something; don’t wait until new year’ Happy New Year, and I hope you reach all of your goals 🙂
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I like that stance- it eliminates the built in “no one keeps New Year’s resolutions” excuse. Happy 2015 to you!
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Rather than lofty goals drafted on New Year’s Day, maybe real progress comes with daily decisions to do something or not do something. At least that’s how I plan to tackle 2015. Have a happy New Year!
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I think you are dead on here, and that’s how I plan to tackle 2015 as well. Wishing you all the best for this new year!
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Love the optimism of this post. Feels healthy to look at things the way that you do.
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It makes for less pressure for sure! Thanks for stopping by for a read! 🙂
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