Different Kinds of Resolutions

Happy New Year, everybody! I was contemplating the different sorts of resolutions I’ve made over the years. Many of them have had to do with writing or healthy habits that I wanted to form. The problem with resolutions is that they’re held so tightly in the first few days (or maybe weeks, if you’re diligent), but then it’s easy to let them slip. That’s led me to play around with resolutions over the years, and I’m always up for making up something new or different or (let’s face it) weird.

Now, this way that I’m about to describe may actually be a totally horrible way to set resolutions, but I’m going to give it a try this year; what have I got to lose? It involves three types of resolutions, as I see them, but only one is completely in my control.

One is going to be a realistic goal that I’m setting for myself. The next is going to be a positive hope that I’m going to manifest, so to speak, into the universe, and the last one is a pie in the sky dream for something I’d love to see happen. I think the last two could be tied to your own personal dreams or could more broadly encompass some greater wish or hope for your family, your community, your country, the world, etc. If you want to join me in this potentially crazy journey, have at it! 😁

The realistic goal that I’m setting for myself is to get at least 20 minutes of heart-raising physical activity every day. My new oncologist says this is the best thing I can do to prevent cancer recurrence, so I’m embracing it. I found an awesome yoga flow class and a Zumba class that I love, both at centers in town, though I can only get to them on days when my husband is off to watch the kids and/or the stars align properly between my schedule and the schedule at these fitness centers, hah! But I think on even my busiest days I can make room for just 20 minutes of a brisk walk or some movement on the elliptical my husband found for me this summer. Plus, I can ski in our yard in the winter. There is really nothing holding me back!

The positive hope that I’m going to put out to the universe is that I’m going to find my literary agent this year. It’s a little scary putting that in writing; my body physically resists it, like, no, Sarah, you can’t just say that— you don’t know that for a fact. But that is the purpose of this second resolution-ish thing I am setting. I know that I understand writing and publishing and querying and marketing so much better than I ever have and that I’m passionate about sharing my writing and that I’m actively learning more all the time. Therefore, I’m throwing this hope/prayer out there. So be it!

My pie in the sky dream is for everyone in the world to be more kind. My husband said he heard on a podcast recently that there are three types of loneliness and that people have experienced each of these three types in a greater quantity since the pandemic. In my opinion, just from my observations of my students and talking to other communication instructors and friends, humanity as a whole lost a lot of their people skills during the pandemic, probably as a result of this endemic loneliness. And this loss of skills is increased by misuse of social media. I see the resulting problems every day in ways as diverse as the increased extreme social anxiety of my students (which is increasing around the entire world, apparently) and the absurd number of people driving distractedly, completely disregarding the safety of people around them. Generally, people seem less in tune to the needs of others. I think a little kindness would go a long way in ending larger problems, too, like war and crime, but of course this idea may sound naive to people. And that’s why it’s my “dream” resolution.

What are your resolutions? Are they nonexistent? Are they more attainable, dreamier, or some sort of combination?