End-of-year resolutions tend to be personal checklists to improve one’s health, outlook, relationships, career situation, etc. From the mundane (clean up the clutter, the gut, the gutter) to the aspirational (volunteer weekly at a charity or school), resolutions can encourage us to do more or do better.
But alas, come January 20, the clutter continues to pile up and we haven’t stepped on a scale since fireworks’ night out of reality fear. But maybe this time we’ve gotten a better grip on ourselves and what matters as we come out of the woodwork after nearly two-years. Maybe 2022 really will be the year of living differently, where we’ll take small, incremental steps to wellness in some aspects of our lives.
Wouldn’t it be great if we all would simply just be 10% better- kinder, more empathetic, giving more of ourselves to our kids, significant others, co-workers, neighbors and friends? That holiday season boost we feel annually around November/December, what if that lasted, like a beneficial booster vaccine, for months or years? What if we left reminders on our phone, work desk, and calendars to keep that holiday vibe alive as the monotony of day-to-day life creeps in by the time we hit 2nd quarter next year?
What if we saw a health professional or military member standing in line at a quick service restaurant and opted to pay for his/her meal and simply said, “thanks for all that you do”? This is certainly not meant to be cloying, just an assessment of what we can do after a tough, extended winter, spring, summer, and fall of our discontent.
What if we consciously go out of our way to say “mahalo” to the administrative types who’ve handled far too many calls from far too many agitated people over the past 21-months? Or the store clerks and line personnel at our favorite locations who’ve had to deal with more risk than many, since their jobs don’t permit working from home?
We are the land of aloha, so this really shouldn’t be such a stretch… ever. Some comment on how rude people have become- in lines, on planes, driving, on the phone- which is possibly due, in part, to a very trying and frustrating couple of years. But we can change that, and the holiday season is a good time to pro-actively train ourselves for the rest of our lives.
Think about it…