Be at War with your Vices, at Peace with your Neighbours, and let every New-Year find you a better Man. ~Quoted in Benjamin Franklin's 1755 Poor Richard's Almanac.
Many people don’t want to make New Year’s resolutions because they seem to be doomed to fail; that’s probably because they really aren’t committed to change.
Change isn’t easy. You need to have the desire to change, a lot of determination and hard work to even accomplish. .
The reality is: habits are easier to make than to break. Breaking a habit is a lot more complicated because the brain’s synapsis can be reactivated with the slightest provocation and short-circuits to the same result. It’s more advantageous to replace the negative with a positive alternative and develop a good habit.
Making resolutions also requires a lot of soul searching and pondering on what we really desire for ourselves in the future.
I hope this story inspires one and all to be a better version of ourselves in 2024. This message was found on a tomb of an angelical bishop who was buried in Westminster Abbey in 1100 A.D.
“When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world.
As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it too seemed immovable.
As I grew into my twilight years, on one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.
And now as I lay on my deathbed, I suddenly realize – if I had only changed myself first, then by example I might have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement I would then have been able to better my country and who knows, I may have changed the world.”
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
