Moving into the New Year

Ok, one final post for this year [believe me, I won't make any more today; 3's my absolute limit].

So what's 2008 going to be all about? I know the election stuff is going to continue to bombard the news; so will the war, spending, and the usual same old day to day stuff that seems to always be with us.

But what GOOD stuff do we want to have happen? And not with 'just' the intermational and national goings-on [IS there good stuff there?] but what about closer to our homes and our hearts? Does anyone want to make some positive predictions for us?

What about these resolution things that so many people make this time of year, promising to follow them through? [yeah, right.] I do know that people mean well and they really do want to accomplish so many different goals and I don't blame them for trying.

Are people coming up with these resolutions just because its that time of year and they think they're required to? Do they keep the same one[s] on their list every single year? I wonder how generalized or specific these resolutions are; are they setting them up in such a way that they're able to see their progress in mearurable ways? Are they trying to do something that isn't easy to start in the cold [and snow] of winter [like being able to do a triathlon within 2 months]? Do they have a buddy to work on this with them, someone that won't be too hard on them?

Me, I've given up making up yearly resolutions. First of all, I have a thing with keeping all of my commitments, commitments to others as well as for myself. So what makes me think that I'll follow through on a NY's resolution?

Yes, I do make goals for myself from time to time. Sometimes I make progress on them, sometimes not so much, a few of them I keep trying and trying, wondering if I'll ever succeed or what would happen if I didn't, would I be ok with that?

While some people like to use the end of a year to look over their past to make plans and resolutions for the future, I generally start thinking about these things around other personal mile-markers. Like my birthday is one. Sometimes harder ones, too, like the anniversary of my divorce. Or this period of time that I'm out on disibility and not being able to work in the fields that I was trained to do. With some help this past summer and fall, I did get some insights from a professional, in what it might be like if I didn't ever work again. So, as a lot of us can see, we all deal with change as it comes [wanted or not]. We have to learn how to work through it and then resolve to work on a plan for our next step, the next project, the next phase of life.

So no, I don't make resolutions for the start of a new calendar year; at least in my life, it's too unpredictable to even consider this approach. However, it might be fun to at least make some predictions for 2008.

Anyone want to take a stab at it? Feel free to comment!