Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

It’s a New Year and many people take this is as an opportunity to improve their lifestyles and habits, create more connections, and basically start fresh. Whether you had an awesome 2010 or a “could’ve-been-better” 2010, it always feels great to put things behind us and look ahead to what may be in store for us this new year.

Resolutions - definitely one of the most common things people create in the beginning of the year. We all have our personal goals and we have the whole year to reach them. One thing that many of us know is that making resolutions is very easy - but keeping them can sometimes be a struggle. I know this because of the experiences of family, friends and, of course, my own.

I am a gym-goer myself, not consistent, but I do go. What struck me was how largely the amount of people increased from the end of 2010 to the beginning of 2011 in just a matter of a few days. Creating resolutions is a great kick-off to the New Year because it is motivational and it gives us the opportunity to improve ourselves in a variety of ways.

Two very important things to keep in mind when making resolutions:

1. Make sure that they challenge you and encourage you to grow as a person; and
2. Make sure they are reasonable (challenging is good, but creating extremely ambitious goals may be too difficult).

Aside from creating new resolutions, let’s not forget to recall the resolutions, if any, we made back in 2010. If we were successful with a resolution - let’s maintain it. If we weren’t successful with a resolution - let’s give it another shot! A new year should not just be treated as a fresh new start because we shouldn’t neglect the fact that without 2010, there wouldn’t be a 2011. My sister once told me that the New Year should be treated as a “continuation.”

Again, without 2010 there wouldn’t be a 2011. Another very important thing that many of us forget to do in the New Year is to look back on the past year. Recall all the great memories spent with family and friends, I’m sure there was a lot. Also, recall the opportunities and chances for personal growth. These opportunities could have been getting a job, getting on the sports team at school or delivering a speech to a crowd. These opportunities could have also come from challenging experiences such as getting a bad mark on a test, getting sick or maybe even getting broken hearted. In these situations we learned that maybe we should study harder to receive higher marks, take better care of our health to reduce the risk of getting sick and, well, the last one (about a broken heart) is different for all of us. Although there may have been some rocky roads along the way - we should always learn from them and then apply them.

Sometimes we don’t realize it but each day is filled with opportunities to learn and grow as a person. Therefore, how much more in one whole year? Therefore, “Goodbye 2010, hello 2011” should really be “Thank you 2010, Here we go 2011!” because all the things we have learned in the past year can be used towards this new year.

I am sure that this New Year is extremely exciting for many of us - I am also sure that many of us already have anticipations and plans for the year ahead. Let’s seize every moment and every day, recognize all the blessings (even those in disguise), stick to our resolutions, love those around us and just have a blast. I hope everyone has a blessed and fun-filled 2011! Thank you 2010, here we go 2011!