New Year's Resolution

The best advice I ever got concerning new year's resolutions was dispensed by one of my favorite grad school professors. She said that most people set themselves up for failure because they plan to unrealistically change their whole life by just uttering a single vague sentence: I'll eat healthy; I'll exercise everyday; I'll stop procrastinating.... "If you really want to make a change" she said, "change your life by one degree."

She reminded me that one degree can alter outcomes drastically; after all, the difference between water freezing or boiling lies within one degree. The overall message is a good one - just one small change can significantly impact your quality of life.

So this year, my resolution is to keep what I'm calling a "thankful journal" where I write down - every day - at least three things I'm thankful for. Since I've started keeping the journal, I have become more aware of all the little things that make my life so wonderful - little things that previously, I would have taken for granted. Life is too short not to relish in the beauty of it, and now, at least for a few minutes every day, I remind myself of that fact.

My "Thankful Journal"

"If you think you're too small to make a difference or that your voice is too small to be heard, you've obviously never been in a tent with a mosquito" - unknown