Resolutions For The New Year

 Every new year, we hear people express their New Year's resolution;  their commitment to change, to do better or at least to up what they started doing.  But why wait for the new year?  What better time than a new day? Isn't tomorrow just as good as any? Isn't a new tomorrow a new beginning, another opportunity to start fresh? 

Most of the new year's resolutions we hear are of dieting, getting more slim, more fit, more healthy; well, at least from ladies. A certain mall for one is encouraging people to stay fit; to be more conscious of their health and their appearance; hence their campaign slogan: 

" New year, new you: Be more awesome this 2014 ".

This January, on weekend nights, dance sessions are being conducted at the grounds and the crowd participates.   A stage is set with sounds and moving lights and there is an exercise/dance guru showing everyone the right moves. 

As I walk for an hour around the mall, I see that people are seriously posting their resolve on a large board provided at the lobby.  I see a lot of resolutions written on different colored post-its.

 Its a contest!  One must turn in their plan to look more awesome this 2014, and the best plan wins!

There's a prize!   A make-over package and a shopping package! 

How awesome is that?

Why is losing weight and looking better the most common resolve? What about healthy and feeling better? Okay, maybe that will follow if one is fit. 

But how about our goals and dreams; are they not worth having a resolve as well?  Aren't they part and parcel of our well-being? What good is fit and beautiful if one is bored, with nothing to look forward to, nothing to energize, to inspire, to excite?  What can we do?  What would help us realize our goals, what boost do we need to get us going? 

I guess one good answer lies in Joan Lunden's book, "Wake-up Calls" where she relates how she started to follow her dreams after she left her work as anchor for two decades for Good Morning America.  Her collection of numerous quotes inspires me; leaving me with a feeling like I'm raring to go; wanting to do something! 

Joan Lunden wrote:   " we only hit at those things we aim at, so we better aim at something high. People succeed because they know where they are going ". 

She quotes Babe Ruth's philosophy to life: "never get your fear of striking out get in your way". And she had applied this philosophy to herself:   " and as he ( Babe ) would swing hard, we can set our goals with the same enthusiasm ".

Here are some more of her inspiring quotes from the compilation:

"Destiny is not a matter of chance: it is a matter of choice."

-William Jennings Bryan 

" Everything starts with yourself---with you making up your mind about what you're going to do with yourself ".--Tony Dorsett

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams" ---Eleanor Roosevelt

"A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's heaven for? "

---Robert Browning

Now, did that stir you at all? Did you feel that you can at least try?