No “New Year’s Resolution” — 2017
In 2016, I made a new year’s resolution to not make any resolutions. It turned out to be a normal year and I'm building on what I learned this year for another no resolution, resolution year.
In 2016, I made a new year’s resolution to not make any resolutions:
It turned out to be a normal year. I didn’t buy any self improvement books and spent time with friends and family. It was a year of being me. It was almost the same as every other year just without that irritation of not doing what I resolved to do. This last year it was impossible to not meet my goal.
This year, I’m keeping to the same new year resolution for 2017. “Be myself.”
A desire for constant self improvement is important to many people and to some it drives personal and professional growth. Those people find satisfaction in the quest to improve. Thousands of self-improvement books are published each year on this premise.
“Given only one minute to spend, would you happily spend it practicing mindfulness or speaking with someone you love or helping someone in need?”
I think we would all respond that helping or loving someone takes priority. Yet, most of us spend much more attention trying to improve and perfect ourselves.
Every year we do, work, spend more than the year before. We become more stressed and frustrated with our inability to catch-up. The vast expanse of the internet constantly reminds us of how little we really know and how much we need to learn.
“If I read this other article. If I just send one more email. If I do more, I will have more time.”
Our stress and frustration comes from our splintering attention. We force ourselves to handle an exponentially increasing number of inquires. We are learning at a pace unknown in human civilization. For all that we learn in our hyper connected world, we understand less.
“For the first time in human history, we can measure our complete incompetence and are offered the wrong tools. We cannot learn everything.”
We cannot be more productive. There isn’t anything we can squeeze out of our existing approach. We must do different things if we want different outcomes. We can’t squeeze anything else into our already overburdened lives.
Let’s all resolve to do nothing this year. Let’s resolve to nothing. To stop. Focus on tasks which demand our full and undivided attention.
So this year, join me in doing something old and new. Something we are forgetting how to do. Be yourself. Be a wife, mother, husband and father. Be a student, child. Be a lover. Be yourself.
We will be depressed. We will struggle. We will be angry. And we will be happy. The meaning of our lives is in the life we live, the people we touch. Life is too short, much too short to worry about your impossibly long bucket-list.
Let’s be honest. You’re not going to learn that language.
We have booked out all our time. All our focus. And we just keep adding more on top. Criticizing ourselves for not doing enough. Not being fast enough.
And when we fail to live up to our impossible standards, we expect more from our children, friends, employees, family and even strangers.
Why is this bus so slow? Don’t they realize I’m running late!
We find ways to lock them in the prison we have built for ourselves. Give yourself permission to be yourself. Do nothing. Do only one thing. You will find time that was always there.
Humanity has built the fountain of knowledge. Why don’t we sit nearby, sip our tea and contemplate what to do next?