Starting 2016

I woke up this morning ready to start the New Year with hope and faith for a good 2016. Not with the naïve notion that this will be the best year I’ve ever had, nor with the belief that it will be a year of nothing but joy and happiness. No, I don’t dream of a perfect year, as I know perfection is a myth. Instead, I simply dream of a year where I am more happy than sad; more healthy than ill; more productive than lazy; more optimistic than bleak. I pray for a year that starts and ends with laughter and friendship.

As always, I have a small list of accomplishments I hope to achieve for the year. I don’t like to think of them as “resolutions” though. Instead, I like to think of them as reminders to myself of my long-term, lifetime goals of being happy. And that means that I can change the list as I need to – without guilt – as long as changing the list will help me towards my goal of being happy.

(Which means that if one of the accomplishments I’ve set for myself is later deemed to be causing me undue stress and upset, without a clear indication of how it will lead to my overall happiness, I can remove it from the list.)

My list of accomplishments has three themes: Personal well-being, physical health and fitness, and academic achievements. Each theme has a few specific goals for the year. Some will be easier than others, but all of them will (or should) lead to a greater level of happiness. (Even though I know there will be a lot of stress, tears, and sweat involved with some of them. The “writing a PhD thesis” bit is not going to be an enjoyable task – but the result will be well worth it!)

I won’t be sharing specific details of my 2016 accomplishment list, except for my running goal which I’ll share separately. But I will be sure to share some of the (mis)adventures I go on as I work towards my overall goal of having a mostly happy 2016.

And if all goes well, my year-end recap will include many, many happy adventures and achievements to look back on. But for now, I’ll just look forward to creating the highlights reel!

Happy 2016 to you and yours! I wish you all the best for an incredibly wonderful (even if not perfect) year.

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