Hit and Miss

There's something about early January. The good parts of the holiday spirit is lingering a little, people are making small promises to themsleves- Resolutions. There's bits of new self-confidence everywhere. Bits of hope. I've written down a bunch of things I want to do, in my "Resolution Journal" and as time and will allow I will pick things I believe are possible and make individualized plans to accomplish them. I doubt I will get to everything on the list, but I'm bound to get to something. Some things I will hit, and others I'll miss. I've already decided that's okay, and it's a lot less pressure.

I also want to start including "daily resolutions" -- list at least one thing that I can get done and feel like I've accomplished something. Writing this blog makes today's list.

Resolutions get a lot of attention this time of year. Losing weight. Quitting smoking. Exercise. Volunteer. Read more. Watch less TV. Spend Time with Loved Ones. A slew of good intentions run through the forefronts of our minds. And I think even those who declare they don't make resolutions can't help but let the idea of self improvement cross their minds, even if they refuse to say anything out loud.

Resolutions certainly don't exist in a January bubble, and everyone -- even the naysayers make them all year round. Most of the time we call them goals, or simply things we need to do. But we don't let ourselves count those things, and we should. I cleaned my refrigerator really well the other day. A definite hit. I celebrate that hit whenever I open my fridge.

Too many times we only see our misses. Bills we might be behind on. Clothes we can't fit into. Problems that certainly will take resolve to conquer, and chances are they won't be solved overnight. But with planning we can at least move toward those solutions. See the little hits along the way. The more hits we choose to see, the less we will allow the misses to defeat us.

Gretchen Lee Bourquin is the author of No Sensible People available on Amazon.com and Lulu.com