Yes, I do New Year's Resolutions. I enjoy bringing in a new year with an overarching goal in front of me because I feel like it provides direction. I'll be honest and say that I do not even remember what last year's resolution was, but I do know what I plan for this year.
(1) My first resolution comes from a proverb I was recently introduced to:
Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you - better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away. Proverbs 27:10
With the Internet, all the social networking sites, Skype, telephone, etc., it is so easy to stay connected to friends and family across long distances. But what about those friends and family members who are right next door? Trying to keep in touch with people hundreds and thousands of miles away, it's easy to loose touch with someone who is sitting directly across from you. So, my New Year's Resolution is to invest into the relationships of those nearby. This does not mean that I will ignore my friends and fam back home, but that I will put more time and attention into my relationships here in Abu Dhabi.
(2) My second resolution connects to the first, but I want to work on establishing relationships, at least real conversations, with everyone I come in contact with. I've always been more of an introverted person and have always found it difficult to open up to new people. But, while traveling home and back, I challenged myself to talk to complete strangers beyond simply, "Hi. How are you?" This resulted in me meeting a lot of great people and having some really good conversations. No, I do not keep in touch with anyone that I met (I might need to work on that too), but at least I met someone knew. It's so easy to just say, "Hi" to the lady in the copy room or simply smile at the person standing next to you in line at the grocery store, but if you try to get to know someone, at least for the 5 minutes you are in each other's lives, then you can learn something and maybe make a new friend. I know the "everyone" part of this resolution is not fully possible, but you gotta shoot for the moon.
I hope that by writing these resolutions down and making them public, I will hold myself more accountable. If you have a resolution, try writing it down and telling someone else. You could even post them here!
(1) My first resolution comes from a proverb I was recently introduced to:
Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you - better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away. Proverbs 27:10
With the Internet, all the social networking sites, Skype, telephone, etc., it is so easy to stay connected to friends and family across long distances. But what about those friends and family members who are right next door? Trying to keep in touch with people hundreds and thousands of miles away, it's easy to loose touch with someone who is sitting directly across from you. So, my New Year's Resolution is to invest into the relationships of those nearby. This does not mean that I will ignore my friends and fam back home, but that I will put more time and attention into my relationships here in Abu Dhabi.
(2) My second resolution connects to the first, but I want to work on establishing relationships, at least real conversations, with everyone I come in contact with. I've always been more of an introverted person and have always found it difficult to open up to new people. But, while traveling home and back, I challenged myself to talk to complete strangers beyond simply, "Hi. How are you?" This resulted in me meeting a lot of great people and having some really good conversations. No, I do not keep in touch with anyone that I met (I might need to work on that too), but at least I met someone knew. It's so easy to just say, "Hi" to the lady in the copy room or simply smile at the person standing next to you in line at the grocery store, but if you try to get to know someone, at least for the 5 minutes you are in each other's lives, then you can learn something and maybe make a new friend. I know the "everyone" part of this resolution is not fully possible, but you gotta shoot for the moon.
I hope that by writing these resolutions down and making them public, I will hold myself more accountable. If you have a resolution, try writing it down and telling someone else. You could even post them here!
