Best New Year's Resolution

Thank you so much for following Being Grand this year and all the previous years, too.  I appreciate it so much.  Today's the day to make your one golden New Year's Resolution for next year.  Many people do.  People promise themselves to lose weight, find a better job, come home earlier, get that makeover they've been putting off, save money for the future, eat healthy, pay off that credit card, even find true love.

The new year is a wonderful time to take stock of your life, the good, the bad and the really really ugly.  You know, we all have our hurdles. 

Now, who do you know who wants to change the good part of their life?  That's why change, repairs, fixes, do-betters, hopes, dreams and wishes are usually about changing the not-so-good.

Everyone knows all too well that resolutions are not always about making something happen -- but sometimes resolutions are about making something stop happening. Stop overeating, stop buying on credit cards, stop being a couch potato, stop living life the same old way, stop doing the same thing, stop. 

Resolutions are all dressed up with good intentions on New Year's Eve, but a couple of months later…Well, how many of your New Year's Resolutions have you actually kept?

Last year I tried something different.  I resolved to do something for someone else.  It turned out to be a New Year's resolution that I kept, and it was easy and awesome.  The best New Year's Resolution I ever made. Doing something for another person made me feel filled up inside. It made my heart glow. 

Now, I don't know who or what my resolution is about this year yet, but if you want to feel that warm fuzzy in your heart, zero in on one person: Think about what you can do to bring a smile to that person's face, and then resolve to make it happen.  You can even go a step further, make it happen more than once.  You know what I mean, don't you?

You could drop off a heat-n-eat dinner to someone you know (drop off is the key).  My father used to drop off raw meat. It's true: he'd hand me a big butcher-wrapped roast beef or bone-in ham.

You could write a note and mail it to someone just to say hello once a week or once a month. Call and leave a caring voice message. (You'd be surprised how much that means.) You could offer to wash a car, clean the house, walk the dog, read to someone, do errands. You could even send flowers for no particular reason. You know.  Color outside the lines.

Make sure you don't intrude on the person's life.  Don't push, demand or insist.  Don't show up uninvited.  Be benevolent.  Be generous.  Be kind. Be unselfish.  Do something unpredictable. Different. Surprising. Don't ask for or expect thanks.  After all, a gift is only a gift when you don't want anything in return, right? Don't forget to be specific with your resolution and set a deadline.

I promise, "giving" is a New Year's Resolution you'll be able to keep -- and you feel really really good about keeping it.  Resolve to give sunshine to just one person. That's the best New Year's Resolution you can make. Thanks again for following Being Grand. Have a safe and Happy New Year.

That's what's on my mind today, this last day of the year.