Resolutions? Oh, pulleeze!!!

Admit it, as a senior you have made years and years of New Years resolutions only to either break them, get frustrated by them, or ignore them totally, right? Right! Why do we keep doing these kinds of things to ourselves? We are at the age where resolutions are for those who think they are really going to do it this year, who think they need to resolve something (again). Well, that’s not me anymore and my guess is that it is not you either.

Just saying the word resolutions gives me the creeps. Why, at this age, do we need to resolve anything? I’m suggesting another way to look at a “new” year and to do it with excitement, not dread. Instead of resolutions, use the word change.

Most of us at the beginning of a new year are in the good habit of wanting to make a difference, to do something out of the ordinary perhaps, or improve something. All good stuff, for sure. But we don’t have to resolve to do it. We can simply think about it, put it into play, if we want to and go from there…or not.  Doesn’t that sound so much better? And doable?

I’m tired of putting pressure on myself or letting others do it to me.

Most of us have put in over 50+ years of work and don’t want any more “have to’s”. 

However, making a positive change or making an attempt at a positive change is good enough for me.

Why do we resist change in the first place? The “grown up word” for that resistance is metathesiophobia. That is the actual fear of making a change in one’s life. Why? Because we are afraid of a negative outcome, or it causes anxiety or brings up our lack of self-esteem. I get that.

Making a change instead of a resolution for the New Year is so much easier IF you want to do it at all! That is what is so important to remember. We are at an age where we can make a change, make a difference, make a stand if we want to! Not because we must.

So, forget the resolutions, the promises to others or yourself. Make a big change (go big or go home!), make a tiny change or make no resolution or change at all. That’s right! Give yourself the freedom you deserve, the confidence to be yourself just the way you are right now. I think you look great! Happy New Year!

Happy Aging, 

Sue