What if a New Year’s Resolution Only Had to Last for a Moment?

by | Jan 10, 2016 | 2 comments

What if a New Year's resolution only had to last a moment?I imagine you are surprised to be hearing from me! I have been so busy in my private practice working with clients – for which I feel very grateful – that I have neglected this blog. I feel sad about that, as I do enjoy it.

Sitting with clients this past week, the idea of New Year’s resolutions has crept into many conversations. I have been happily surprised as there has been less talk of “this year I am going to…..”

And people still seem to be searching for a way to start the New Year with a sense of purpose while, at the same time, not setting themselves up for failure. So, I thought that it might be useful to put this idea out there, again, this year.

What if resolutions only had to last for a moment?

What if all we needed to do was to set a resolution for a single moment? Would that change things? Could I do that? Could you do that?What if a New Year's resolution only had to last a moment?

What if I treated each moment as a new opportunity and determined what my “resolve” was in that moment?

There would be no more “well I failed again this year” or “well I’ve blown it for today – I’ll start again tomorrow, next week, or next month”.

Every moment would offer the possibility of a new start. Every moment would be a new moment to be present and to care for myself.

Maybe in one moment . . .

I might be feeling sad, and I would resolve to honor my sadness or to ask for support;

in the next moment, I might resolve to feed myself, because I am hungry;

or, I might be feeling angry and expect myself to speak up in order to get my needs met or to be more willing to let go of minor injustices.

And guess what? If I didn’t do any of that, there is a whole new moment that has just arrived!

What do you think?

What if a New Year's resolution only had to last a moment?

How might setting your resolutions moment by moment change the idea of resolutions for you?

I’d love to hear your reactions, so please take a moment to leave a comment and let me know.

what if a New Year's resolution only had to last a moment?

2 Comments

  1. Ann

    Love the thought of setting a goal for just one moment, as that is actually how we live our lives – one moment, one breath, one thought, one action at a time. It is the accumulation of these that move us forward.

    I resolve to offer a kind, encouraging word to the next person I speak to . . . Deb, you are the best!

    Reply
    • Deb Lang

      Hi Ann! Loved how you described that and thanks for the encouraging words! 🙂

      Reply

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