As many of you know we pick up habits and mindsets as we live our lives. Some are very healthy and others may need adjusting. Changing certain habits can seem impossible after so many years. This is because we get comfortable with our discomfort, whether it’s how we communicate with certain people, our view of our bodies, our work ethics, our coping mechanisms, or our belief systems.

Sometimes later in life people give up on New Year’s resolutions, perhaps because they believe they are destine to have a similar year to the last year and the year before. Sometimes the things in life that we can’t control, land us in a place that makes us feel stuck. And it’s hard to come up with positive resolutions when we are overwhelmed and don’t even know where to start.

I take comfort in remembering that we are all works in progress, we aren’t finished, we will move forward and continue to evolve as long as we live. And that is all it takes for me to know that meaningful changes can happen and there is no better time than right now. Different stages of life can bring deep transformation. What if we reframe resolutions as intentions ~ then they represent an ongoing effort rather than success and failure.

Since there are many variables that influence living a good life, there are many areas to focus our good intentions on ~ how we eat, exercise and sleep are a few, but beyond that is how we connect socially. Wellness is a social activity, a shared responsibility, striving for social, not just personal, wellness.

I’ll kick off 2024 with some of my intentions: experience more sunsets with loved ones, feel more goosebumps during deep conversations with friends, smile at “strangers”, host and attend gatherings, seek new fulfilling connections, remember my social connections are my emotional insurance.

By acting on our good intentions we are not just getting older, we are getting better!

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
~ Albert Einstein