A New Year Just Ahead

The arrival of a new year always brings the promise of another chance to get things right. Of course, it's merely a metaphor and hanging a new wall calendar is not to be confused with signaling a fresh start. But it's still refreshing that we can begin a new experience.

Guess that's why many people make resolutions to help guide their behavior in the new year. Resolutions are actually promises which address actions for which we otherwise lack discipline, matters such as losing weight, getting more exercise, saving money and finishing projects. Rather than wallowing in guilt, we can look toward the future and promise to do better.

Personally, I'm not a big believer in resolutions and in the past have often hung on to promises made at midnight until perhaps 8 or 9 a.m. the following morning before admitting defeat. "Oh, well," I usually sigh. "There's always next year."

But this year will be different. 2013 will be the year I adhere to at least one new year's resolution -- not to be such a worrier.

I've usually taken bold actions in life. Not afraid of much, I got out of a young but dreadful marriage that no one could convince me to avoid in the first place. I've left jobs and relationships that bored me silly. I was never afraid to make decisions about hum-drum issues that make some people crazy. Rather than ask someone if an outfit looks good, I visit the nearest mirror and judge for myself. I've spoken my mind and trusted my instincts.

Yet in recent years, I've become a bit hesitant to rely on those instincts. Perhaps I have become more concerned about my image as a senior. Just why this hesitancy has begun to creep into my decision making is unclear.

The unrelenting bombardment of information might be one reason. Insignificant details of no importance jump off the web or are announced with banner crawls across our televisions without a break. As we are coerced into caring about such drivel, perhaps we tend to alter our view of the world based upon some issue, such as how others view us. Would someone think that wearing a bright color makes me looks as though I am avoiding growing old? Do they think…? Who really cares what they think?

We all tend to worry too much. Whether it is how your family will be viewed, how your children behave or how you will cope with growing older, we must all face the worry habit and try to break it.

Worry is nothing new but has plagued humans for centuries. As we make our resolutions, and welcome a fresh start, let's take a quick glance at some of the great comments made about worry over time:

"With certain limits, it is actually true that the less money you have, the less you worry."
-- George Orwell

"There are many terrible things in my life and most them never happened."
-- Michel de Montaigne

"Of all your troubles, great and small, the greatest are the ones that don't happen at all."
-- Thomas Carlyle

"Don't lose today by worrying about tomorrow."
-- John F. Herbert

"When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of an old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened."
-- Winston S. Churchill

"To live by worry is to live against reality."
-- E. Stanley Jones

"Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe."
-- Keith Caserta

"When I don't have something to worry about, I worry. Nothing comes so naturally to a human being as anxiety and worry."
-- Brian Richardson

Try to begin the new year with a fresh outlook. Make a few resolutions of your own and try and remain true to those promises. Happy New Year!