So here we are, a week into the New Year, and I’m still working on my New Year’s Resolutions. I guess that means “Quit procrastinating” is off the table.

Actually, I haven’t been procrastinating. I’ve just been changing my mind a lot. Which means “Be more decisive” is probably also off the table.

Here’s the thing. At Mass on New Year’s Day, our pastor’s homily touched on New Year’s Resolutions. As you would expect, he didn’t focus on losing weight or cleaning out closets, but on resolutions for strengthening our spiritual lives. So I’ve been thinking about New Year’s Resolutions that will help me do that.

Later that afternoon, a friend brought up New Year’s Resolutions. When he started a sentence with, “What are….” I was prepared to answer: “What are your New Year’s Resolutions?” which is what I thought he was going to ask. But what he asked instead was: “What are you going to do this year that you’ve never done before?”

That caught me off guard. There are a lot of things I’ve never done before, but I couldn’t think of any that I especially wanted to do, let alone was already planning to do this year. So I turned the question back to him. And when I asked what he was going to do this year that he’s never done before, he didn’t miss a beat.

“Skydiving,” he said, which made my own New Year’s Resolutions—mostly about healthy habits and decluttering projects—suddenly seem very boring. But for the life of me, I couldn’t come  up with anything I’ve never done, but would like to.

What I finally decided to do this year is to let go—of the projects and programs that make up my usual New Year’s Resolutions, as well as guilt over the ones I don’t complete. And I’m going to let go of the nagging feeling I get every so often that there’s something more—or something else—I should be doing. Instead, I’ll try to focus more on the present, and make the most of whatever it is I am doing at any given time, whether it’s writing, praying, watching a movie, or working on chores and tasks that I’ll still try to get done, even without a New Year’s Resolution.

I’m guessing that incorporating this mindset will give me more pleasure and satisfaction in whatever I accomplish—from the mundane to the marvelous. And who knows? It may even open my eyes to new experiences and activities that I’ve never done before, but that I do want to try.

I’ll let you know if skydiving ever makes the list.

January 8, 2025
©Betty Liedtke, 2025

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