It’s habitual to start the new year with a list of resolutions, or at least goals, many of them broken quickly.
I recently came across a list of some sixty goals I had made twenty years ago to help focus my life. The goals I wanted to accomplish within the next year, the next five, ten and fifteen years were broken down into seven categories: Health and fitness, Relationships, Personal, Contribution, Financial, Business/Career and Fun time.
Many have been abandoned through the years when life circumstances or perspectives changed. Some of those goals have (evidently) been postponed—I’ve not yet attained them but would still place them on at least my wish list, if not my purpose-driven list. A good number of them I have fulfilled.
Regarding some of them, I wish I’d found this old list sooner, or deliberately kept going back to it from time-to-time. I might have accomplished more of them had I reminded myself of them. Even twenty years later, I should still pursue them.
As we enter a third year defined by Covid19 one wonders, though, whether it’s even worth thinking about such things as resolutions or goals. So much of our lives seem to be beyond our control, dictated by the seemingly random machinations of this crazy virus.
And its corollary: the totally unstable financial outlook, from grocery prices to the housing market to the unavailability of our favorite goods due to supply chain problems to abandoned travel plans or cancelled flights.
What we can control, though, is our approach to life. That includes our attitudes, knowledge, and physical and psychological well-being.
Pandemic mandates limiting social interaction may just be the tonic to free up time to focus on self-improvements that are often pushed aside in our busy lives. Time for a bit of reading, listening to audio books or podcasts.
How about reading some motivational books? Such books as The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey; Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl; or The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield, et al?
How about books that will help us understand one another better? Such books as The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt.
How about some books that will increase our financial acuity? Such books as the classic Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill; or Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki; or even my short e-book Money Habits for Success.
When it comes to psychological well-being, the first one that comes to my mind is the audio book Little Voice Mastery by Blair Singer. You can think of many more, I’m sure, depending on where you’re at in your life.
The other thing almost everyone can do to improve their personal well-being is to attend to their personal health. And the best way to do that is to get outdoors, to get some fresh air and a little bit of exercise. Repeatedly, we’re informed that these are the best practices to keep healthy both physically and mentally.
And they are the safest ways to interact with others, too, during this continuing pandemic. Our social life may even be enhanced through outdoor activities.
2022 looks like a year that will still not be back to the old normal. But we humans have always learned to adapt to a changing world. Adjusting our mindset, educating ourselves and staying fit and healthy will go a long way toward making it a year that we can look back on a year from now and be satisfied with our efforts at controlling those things that we still can.
And be better people as a result.
At least, that’s how I see it . . .
