We have good intentions. In 2018 we are going to … (fill-in the blank) and … (fill-in the blank) … and the list goes on. Most of us do not keep our New Year’s resolutions into February, and even fewer get to the next year with our new behaviors as habits. Only 10% of resolutions make it through the end of the year. This failure confirms, once again, how hard it is to change.
Really? Yes, we are creatures of habit. If we have good habits that is a good thing. If we have bad habits … not so good. I have many of both types. So what is a new insight that might help? Mark Manson has a book titled, “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK – A Counter Intuitive Approach to Living a Good Life” that attempts to shock us into a new view of the world. You can add the book to your list, or just take the one key idea and use it for 2018.
The one key goal
Manson argues that we spend so much time giving a F*CK about unimportant things that we do not spend enough time on the important things we should give a F*CK about. The long list of things we think we should do aren’t that important. The number of “LIKES” on Facebook, or even Facebook itself, is not that important. Doing much of anything to look good to others on Facebook is a false sense of reality.
Focusing on negatives … things we don’t like about our behaviors, is much harder to overcome than moving toward what we really want more of in our life. How important is it really to lose a few pounds? That exercise program may or may not be really important. Maybe walking more each week is better than a health club membership that you only use in January. My friend dying of cancer does not think work is that important. He thinks family and friends are very important.
The widespread official adoption of the Gregorian calendar and marking January 1 as the beginning of a new year is almost global now. Regional or local use of other calendars continues, along with the cultural and religious practices that accompany them. In Latin America, various native cultures continue the observation of traditions according to their own calendars. Israel, China, India, and other countries, continue to celebrate the New Year on different dates.
