My New Year’s Wishes For You

To kick off the New Year just right, I have a number of wishes for each of you.

1.      May you find true love. Or, if you already have it, may you cherish your partner. Make this the year they truly know you adore them.

2.      May you find the beauty and uniqueness in your children. They are the magic that sows the seeds of the future. Take time for each child every day. It doesn’t have to be very long. After all, how long does it take to give a hug and a kiss, look a little face in the eyes and say, “I love you.”

3.      May you find your perfect body. If you want to lose weight, start now. If you want to add regular exercise, there’s no time like the present. Start a special calendar and stick with it. Remember, the best food choices are minimally processed and the right portion fits into the palm of your hand.

If you want to gain weight, start slow. Strive for a realistic body image by asking people you trust for feedback.

4.      May you find the job of your dreams. Or, if you already have it, may you find challenges to rise to over the coming year.

5.      May you take risks. Nothing was ever gained from a position of absolute safety.

6.      May you learn something new. Something you always wanted to know about. Take a class, ask an expert, expand your horizons.

7.      May you find fulfillment by helping others. Remember the adage that was going around a while back about practicing random acts of kindness? Try to find something each day you can do for someone else.

Pick a project for each month. Outline it in advance and hit the ground with all fours. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Not much ever is, but you will feel amazing for having set goals and accomplished them.

Find time for you. If everything drains you and nothing fills you back up, life will begin to feel very hard. Even the busiest of us can snatch five minutes here and five minutes there. You’re worth it. Yes, you are. Put that five minute block in your calendar. It doesn’t matter if all you do is run to the bottom of the stairs in your office and back up again. That time was yours.

Modern life, especially in America, has turned into a major rat race. When I was young, people truly had leisure time. In the electronic age, we don’t anymore. Try to take vacations from the electronic wonderland you’re plugged into. Go out for a walk without your cell phone. There’s nothing so urgent it won’t wait for an hour. Better yet, take an entire vacation and only turn it on for a few minutes each day. I’m way too attached to my iPhone. I make myself leave it behind at least once every day. And I find I enjoy my gym workouts a whole lot more if part of my attention isn’t focused on all the engaging little sounds it makes. Ditto for meals. There’s nothing worse than trying to have a meal with a friend who’s paying more attention to her phone than to anything else.

I think my main goal this year will be adjusting to retirement. Without a set schedule, I find things slipping away. I lose myself in writing way too much. I need to balance the writing life with other things that fulfill me like my family.

What changes are you going to make in 2012? Shoot a few my way. I’d love to know.