A New Year Really Can Mean a New Life
It is easy to become cynical about New Year’s resolutions. Most of us will break them within a few days of making them; some of us don’t even make it that long. I had more than one New Year’s Eve where I’d planned to give up the booze at midnight, but ended up breaking my resolution within minutes. The truth is that making a resolution is easy, but following it through can require a bit more effort.
Repeating Same Actions + Expecting Different Outcomes = Madness
It is apparently quite rare for people to make significant life changes. Of course we will slowly change over the years, but to actually change course dramatically is unusual. This is why people get stuck in jobs they don’t like, or with addictions they can’t control. It is easier to just go along with things as they are. Change requires making a real effort and most of us are afraid because we don’t know where it is going to lead. This is why some people stay in abusive relationships – the idea that it is better the devil you know.
There is a wise saying; if you keep on doing what you’re doing then you’ll keep on getting what you got. This is so true. Madness is sometimes described as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. If we want our life to be different then we need to be willing to take action and change things. Sure, it is going to involve facing our fears, but when you consider the alternative…
Change is Possible
My life is evidence that significant change is possible; a leopard really can change its spots. For two decades I pissed my life away in the toilets of public houses. I was a waste of space for much of the time. I’d given up hope of change, and was happily drinking myself to death at thirty-five because it seemed the easiest option. The sadest thing of all was that it felt like all I deserved. There was one tiny bit of sanity left inside my mind though, and it was this that helped me escape the madness. Now four and half years later and my life is unrecognisable if you compare it to how things were. We really can completely reinvent ourselves and live a life beyond our wildest dreams. This is not just something to say, but a 100% fact – if we want to change we can.
2011 Can Mean a New Life
If there are things about your life that you don’t like it will be possible for you to change. Don’t kid yourself by saying that New Year’s resolutions are there to be broken – it doesn’t have to be that way. If you want a new life in 2011 it is there for the taking.
Happy New Year Everyone
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Paul, you certainly are proof that with a lot of hard work, change can happen.
I’m another one who takes New Years resolutions with a grain of salt. But I also know that the mere process of making them sometimes gets us closer to our goals.
It is nice to know that we are moving towards our goals. I have to keep reminding myself to enjoy the journey to these goals because that is where the real happiness is to be found.
Paul, I am so glad you started blogging and that I found your blog in 2010. There are occasions when I find it quite inspiring. For me this post says it all, we do hold the power to change things.
Look forward to reading your thoughts in 2011.
Happy New Year.
Thanks Mike, I only really started paying attention to the Thai blogging community since June. It was a great decision, because there really are a great bunch of people writing about Thailand.
Well put Mike – I second that!
Paul inspiring words indeed. I don’t tend to make New Year resolutions but best of luck to those who do. I can see the inspiration attached to making change at the start of a new year and if this post keeps just one person on track to their new goal, then it’s mission accomplished for you.
I echo Mike’s thoughts on your writing and must add that I find some of your posts have me thinking about the changes I need to make in order to kickstart my life onto its next chapter.
….if you keep on doing what you’re doing then you’ll keep on getting what you got….
That’s probably my current status in life.
Hi Martyn, Happy New Year, and I hope you enjoyed Phu Rua
Paul, Happy New Year to you and your family. New Years resolution…whoops, forgot to even think about making one…what does that say 😉 I agree…they are very rarely followed through anyway. I like your take on the subject of starting a new life. I’m happy with the one I have, but know many that aren’t and your words would/could certainly give them a nudge in the right direction.
Thanks Snap, and a Happy New Year to you too. You are right of course, there are some people who already lead a life that makes them happy.
I’d like to share a change I made two years ago which helped me. I stopped writing New Year’s Resolutions. I also stopped writing “to do” lists.
What I have replaced these with is each day instead of writing tasks to accomplish, I make a list on my daily calendar ONLY of the things I HAVE accomplished. At the end of the month, I make a list of my important accomplishments, both for business and personal items.
Then, whenever I start to get depressed, or feel in a rut, or feel like I’m not accomplishing as much as I want to, I look back at my lists of accomplishments and see that I really am making progress, and have accomplished a lot. If I hadn’t made those lists, I would have FORGOTTEN what I accomplished.
I also put up a sign on my wall about a month ago for my students, but found it’s even more helpful for myself, seeing it in my office every day. It says, “Did I REALLY do my best today?” Our best is different each day, but I can go to bed each night feeling satisfied if I know I really did my best.
I hope these ideas will help someone else.
Mary, that is some great advice. I think it is so easy to forget all the things we’ve accomplished. When we look back on what we have done it can motivate us to do more. Great comment. Thanks.
Paul, I’ve fallen into the madness of repeating the same actions and expecting change to come, I think most of is have at one time at another.
Sometimes life gets in the way but most of the times it’s the excuses that bar real change because even though we may say we want the change we don’t really do much to change.
There are some big changes I want to make this coming year and I think this was the perfect place to start. Excellent read.
Happy New Year!
Thanks Tim, well you have certainly made big changes in your life in 2010 with the move to Thailand. I also hope for the changes in my life to continue in 2011. As the Beatles once said, “it’s getting better all the time” 🙂