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No Resolutions

I’m not resolving anything. Chances are, if you made resolutions, you may have already broken one or two. Or several. Or all of them.

You come up with a list of things you think you want to do and if you really want to do them and they’re really something you believe you can do (and perhaps consistently), you’ll do those things. Otherwise, you won’t. Since resolutions are generally related to things we want to change, if you’re not ready for those changes (or change in general), you can forget it.

No judgment. We’re all like this.

Given that, I decided not to make any resolutions. I forgave myself from looking at a list of shiny new things that might look good or make me feel good if I accomplished them.

I might not believe I’m capable of those specific things.

For instance, I might not believe I’m capable of really completing another book.

I bet if I resolved to write another one, I might not make it. By the end of next week, it might be all over. Not wanting to set myself up to fail at things, I instead, I made decisions on who I wanted to be.

Deciding the kind of person you want to be takes the edge off. For me, it feels easier to grow into a role or idea of who I want to be or lifestyle, rather than committing to a list of specific things.

Take losing weight as the resolution. Instead of that, the decision is to be the kind of person who eats healthy and exercises. When I make that commitment and take the actions and create a habit, my mind can wrap itself around doing the things that support losing weight. Not changing my mind and simply giving myself a bunch of things to do without making a habit or making the whole enterprise believable, is a recipe for failure.

Consider something like becoming Vegan. Within that lifestyle, there are certain practices, which are all easier to adopt once you’ve made the decision not to do those things, but to be the kind of person who does those things.

Plus, deciding who you want to be is much more fluid. You may think who you want to be is one way and does a specific set of things. You may get down the road some and make new insights. With a list of resolutions, you’re either expanding your list or editing your list. When you’re practicing a lifestyle, it’s easier to make adjustments. That’s also a much more fulfilling and fun way to live, adding and refining for yourself, the new way you’ve decided to live.

I’m not sharing all my decisions, but with respect to this site, I’m deciding to be a more professional writer. With that comes with continuing to develop my writing habit, including blogging more. Becoming better at generating ideas and submitting more are part of the territory too. All of those things as disparate things would overwhelm me. Instead, adopting the lifestyle, growing my mind more into it and going from there feels more more freeing. It’s not simply a challenge to overcome, but a higher ideal to live into.