Rock-polisher Resolutions for the New Year

I always make New Year's resolutions, even if some of them I don't get around to until September or even later.

Perhaps this is due to my innate optimism, which keeps bubbling up inside me despite all the concrete evidence that I should be pessimistic about the state of the world and myself.

Someone who lives in cohousing, though is pretty much guaranteed to be an optimist and a person with a rather irrational but firm belief in self-improvement - another aspect of the rock-polisher effect.

So, here goes, my New Year's resolutions for myself and my life at Pacific Gardens.

1.  I will try to be more patient. (Last year, I did manage to achieve this with my relatives; the big test this year is whether I will be able to do this with my Pacific Gardens family.)

2.  I will do more of what makes me happy. ( Singing does this, and this year I am going to join a third choir, one that sings for people in hospices.)

3.  I will try not to interrupt and spend more time listening to what others say instead of thinking about what brilliant comments I can make as soon as that other person stops talking!

4.  I will try to relax more and visit with friends and family more often. (This is an annual resolution that I am getting better at, but not enough.)

5.  I will try to let go of and stop obsessing about what I cannot change. (Argggghhhh!)

6.  I will try to be more accepting of the changes to my body and my physical limitations as I age. (This is definitely difficult for someone who believes in self-improvement - sometimes slowing the decline is the best you can do!)

7.  I will spend more time outdoors and less time hunched over a computer. (Oh no...does that mean I have to give up Facebook?)

8.  I will get to bed earlier.  (So much to read, so little time!)

9.  I will learn how to do something new. (Could this be the year I try my hand at gardening?!)

10.  I will stop doing activities out of a sense of duty and start doing them out of a sense of joy.

These 10 are a good start for someone dedicated to self-improvement. And since it's still fairly early in the evening - at least for me - I may even fulfil resolution #8 tonight.

Not a bad beginning to 2013 for this rock-polisher!

Kathryn