I would like to preface this by saying that I hope that you who are reading this have had a wonderful holiday season.
I hope your heart has been full, your family has been near, and your favorite songs have been played. I hope you view the upcoming year as an exciting and beautiful opportunity for growth, love, and change. If I may, I would like to suggest a few Resolutions of the following categories: Health, Advancement, and Generosity for the coming annum.
HEALTH: You can do it! This is going to be the year that you dislodge the posterior from the sofa and hit the gym! Resolve to get that heart rate thumping audibly again. Run 5 miles a week! Pick up a dumbbell! Do a sit-up! Every little bit counts, and the best part is: if you do a couple things during the first couple of weeks of the year and put in your dues when the gym is a madhouse, you do don’t even have to show up again for the rest of the year. Of course, we all know that abs aren’t in the gym nearly as much as they are in the kitchen. The New Year diet may seem daunting, but don’t worry! Just make sure some folks see you eating more salads, post about it a couple times, make sure to get the lighting right on that Insta pic (“Kale Walnut Toss with Zucchini Avocado Lime Cilantro Peanut Chia Lemongrass Dressing”). For bonus points you can buy a couple green smoothies, but you can very easily make your own by tossing the aforementioned salad into the blender and pulse it for a couple seconds.
ADVANCEMENT: Whether personal or professional, set your advancement goals for 2017 high. Go out and network. Submit your resume and make a pitch to sell the startup software company you start in your basement (unrelated side note: learn how to write software codes). Polish off your resume and put some finishing touches on your LinkedIn profile. By the end of the year you will almost be guaranteed to be making a six-figure salary. Don’t forget about your personal advancement! Strike up a conversation and make a new friend! Talk to your crush without vomiting! Blow the crowd away with your standup comedy at an open mic night!
GENEROSITY: And now I give you the reader a dramatic shift. Sure, everything above this is facetious. I portrayed some silly goals because people set goals like this every year and they end up dropping them because they're too hard. There’s nothing wrong with failure, a lot of the goals people set really are quite difficult. I’ll give them that. This section is not meant to be facetious. Being a decent human being isn’t hard at all. It wouldn’t be considered something out of a fairy tale to stop and help someone who is stuck by the side of the road. It wouldn’t be too much of a physical strain to hold the door open and smile at a stranger. Even the busiest schedule can spare a few hours per week to volunteer or help the less fortunate.
I would like to end this by saying that I hope that you who are reading this will have a wonderful year. I hope your heart will be full, your family will be near, and your favorite songs will be played. I hope you try some of the Resolutions of Generosity. Who knows, perhaps as you help others you will be helping yourself the most.
