…To Be Happy

Happy New Year! It’s almost a month into 2017, and granted, I’ve been excited about this year for a while. It’s the 40th anniversary of the year I was born, and even though my birthday is still 11 months away, I’m going to take a cue from one of my 1977-born counterparts and declare a one-year celebration of my 40th birthday.

I could think of a few resolutions to start this year off right, and since it’s the perfect time for making resolutions, why not? I usually find the idea of new year’s resolutions a bit hokey, as so many of them fall by the wayside by Martin Luther King’s birthday, but perhaps the problem is in the approach, not the resolution.

I always say that if you want to make a change, there’s no reason stopping you from doing so right now. Don’t wait until Jan. 1 to start if the idea strikes on Dec. 27. Sure, that ball dropping is magical, but we’re essentially the same people we were before the clock struck midnight on the new year.

So I resolve this year to pursue my goals and dreams as soon as they pop into my head. Pitch that major publication. Start writing that novel, even though I still don’t know what it’s going to be about. Lose those last five pre-pregnancy pounds by picking up my 5K habit again (even though I’m reasonably happy with my post-B & K body 16 months after K was born).

Take my business into higher gear. Start traveling again. Pursue opportunities for leadership and community impact by acknowledging and appreciating my status as a mid-career veteran with a wealth of experience.

Live and love. Maintain my happy. And know that the main person responsible for my happiness is me.

Let the new year begin. And happy 40th birthday to me.

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