Clean slate

I love the idea that a new year means the decisions made during the past year can be wiped away and forgotten so that only new, better decisions can be made instead. While we all know that this isn't true in life and that many decisions can haunt you for the rest of your life, the whole idea makes people try (for at least a little bit) to be better people than they were. I don't usually like making resolutions that I know I can't keep. When I was a kid, I resolved to stop biting my nails every year, and by January 15, I was gnawing away again. Last year I made the resolution to stop texting while driving, which lasted until about May (a record for me!). This semi-success encouraged me to try this out again this year (so far, so good). But mostly, I just want to be slightly better in life than I was last year. I don't have many measurable goals, but concrete ideas to help me achieve this. So aside from my no-texting-while-driving resolution, here are my other ideas:

1) Make a decision, and stick to it. I've found myself going back and forth on a lot. Big things, little things, I just can't make up my mind sometimes. I'm realizing now that my "analysis paralysis" is holding me back from actually enjoying my life because I'm too worried about what the repercussions will be. So I need to figure out a way to feel confident in my decisions and stick to them.

2) Laugh/smile more. It sounds stupid, and I'm generally a happy person, but I've heard that smiling even when you aren't genuinely happy releases dopamine in the brain which actually makes you feel happy. It's like you're tricking yourself into being happy by "faking it." With my busy lifestyle, it's important to find joy in the little things, so that's what I'm going to focus on.

3) Give more. I believe in Karma, and giving makes me happy. Whether it's time, money, kind words, or something else entirely, the act of giving simply out of kindness and not reciprocation is rare in this world. I want to show random acts of kindness through giving what I can to the community and my loved ones.


So that's my 2011 plan.

Happy new year!