Resolutions?

Here is an interesting approach to new year's resolutions. Mary Yost, in her blog, suggests that we have the whole thing backwards. She writes,

By making resolutions at the beginning of the year, it's like we slap our worst flaws on a neon sign and then announce to the world what we are likely to fail at in the coming year.

If you are really committed to doing whatever it is that you "resolve" to do in the new year, wouldn't you have done it already? And if something really is a resolution, doesn't that word mean a problem has already been fixed?

Instead, as one year winds down and we plow toward the next, we continue the bad behaviors and problem habits that we swear we're going to address as we flip the calendar over.

My New Year's Day thoughts played with this notion yesterday. What if we instead celebrate the fresh new calendar by acknowledging our successes of the previous year? Wouldn't that give us extra momentum to deal with our shortcomings throughout the year so that we really will have new victories to hail with the new year?

I love this idea! What successes are you celebrating that you can build on? What do you see at St. John's that can give us extra momentum as we move forward in 2010? What other strategies help you stay focused on what is most important?

Needs versus Wants

I have just returned from my annual trek to Crystal Lake in northern Michigan. I had thought I would post a few blog entries while away, but instead almost completely “unplugged.” I did not compulsively check email. I did not call the office to check in. I simply let myself be. I can’t remember the last time I have “unplugged” so fully; it has been more than a decade.

I slept until I woke up, and then smiled as I curled up with a book later in the afternoon knowing that it would lead to a nap. I enjoyed walking for hours on end with no regard for what I might need to do next. I sat on the beach and strolled through art fairs and street sales and farmers markets. I spent a couple of hours at a time waiting and watching for the sun to set. I painted rocks with my niece and drunk lots of coffee with my husband. Delightfully, I was able to spend each day doing whatever I wanted.

My husband and I frequented a coffee spot that had the sign: We no longer serve breakfast before 10 a.m. We chuckled every time we saw it and speculated that the owner of this popular spot must not like to wake up early, or perhaps he or she goes kayaking or running every morning as the sun rises. Maybe he or she reserves the first hours of the morning to have coffee with his or her spouse! Whatever the reason, it doesn’t seem that it would be because it financially makes sense – it is what he or she must want to do.

On my first day back, as I caught myself saying, “I need to …” and then filling in a growing list, I stopped and inserted “want” instead. “I want to check in with the Tuesday Team so that I am not left to do all the work myself. I want to review resumes so we can hire an intern.” It made a world of difference in my attitude. I may not be able to wait until 10 a.m. to start my day, but I can be intentional about why I do what I do, and why I want to do it.