The only New Year’s resolution that I have ever kept and why you should try it
Do you make New Year resolutions? How many of them did you keep? In the past I would vow to lose weight, quit a bad habit, or to do something that I didn’t really want to do and always failed. Why did I fail? Because instead of adopting life changes I was forcing a drastic change that I wasn’t ready for. Trying to force an unrealistic plan of dietary changes and exercise became even more difficult once my chronic life began. After a while I just gave up on making New Year resolutions all together.
A few years ago I went through an extremely deep and dark depression. Pharmaceutical medications had failed me and although being med-free meant I was no longer experiencing their side-effects, I was miserable and without anything to reduce my physical pain. Thank God for marijuana!! Seriously, my life changed the moment I began medicating with it. My inflammation reduced, pain was more manageable, and most importantly I was able to climb out of that deep, dark pit that I had been living in. No longer living with daily depression or anxiety, I was able to see the beauty of my life, even on days that had to be spent in bed. A few months later as the New Year approached, I decided to make a New Year’s resolution.
The difference between this resolution and resolutions of past was that I chose to make a life change, not an unrealistic or drastic change. I wanted to resolve to do something that could be done no matter what my physical status was. So I resolved to find a reason to smile every day. My goal was to record a thought, activity, blessing, or reason for smiling every day. Some of my reasons were grander than others, but not a day went by that I didn’t find one reason to smile. Some days, just the fact that I was alive was reason enough to smile.
Some days were harder than others to find a reason to smile and because I recorded my reasons daily, on a bad day I would look back and remember the joy I had been able to find. By the year’s end I was able to recall the wonderful moments instead of dwelling on the disappointments my conditions caused. The first year I recorded my reasons on social media. The following years I wrote them down and put them in a smile jar. Another idea is to write your reasons on a calendar. This year I plan on keeping a simple journal. This journal will only be filled with daily reasons to smile and reasons to be thankful for the life I have.
Do you make a daily effort to remind yourself that life is filled with beautiful moments? Do you keep track of them? If so, do you use a jar, journal, etc…? Will you join me in resolving to find a reason to smile each day of 2017?
Wishing you a life filled with reasons to smile,
The Disabled Diva
Amazing post 😊. You have taught all of us a very important lesson of life through this one. I am grateful that I got the opportunity of reading your post. I found the concept amazing and I am surely going to follow it from today 😊
Reblogged this on and commented:
The Disabled Diva sure knows how to pick a New Year’s Resolution. I guarantee when you read this you will not be able to hold back a smile!
Thank you Meshea!! Hugs!!!
😍 I love that you were still able to find a reason to smile!! Hugs!!!
I love all you write! Another wonderful one! ~Meshea
This post definitely made me smile. I have been finding the good in each day for many years now and I agree, some days are harder than others. Today I have been feeling quite ill – not much to smile about. But my Hubby was off work today and allowed me to sleep in, made meals, and fed our pets. My dog curled up with me in bed and had her head on the footrest of my recliner showing her concern. That made me smile!