New Years Resolutions 1

Ken said in a comment yesterday do not ask him to do a New Year Resolution, because at his age, and I confess mine, they come in one year and out the other.  Why do we then create these Resolutions? 

Here is one idea. Cognitive Science tells us that we create and to some extent control our reality. I say to some extent because there are things that we things we can control, and things over which we have no control and, in the middle, there are things that we can influence.

We cannot control the many random events of life. The world is a chaotic place. We don’t control the families we were born into, earthquakes, pandemics, the death of loved ones, fires, and random car accidents. We have slight control over things like health and illness, and if perhaps some control over our job and if we will or won’t be laid off.

We influence other living things with our actions. If you walk into a room, see a stranger sitting there, you can make a decision to smile, and say how, or frown, scowl and look at the stranger with anger and malice. How the person responds depends on how you act, and you influence their behaviour on your own. If you smile, you may be met with a smile in return. If you look angry you may be met by a suspicious look or a surprised look. The reality is that you don’t determine how that person responds. That person could decide to run away, turn the other cheek, and smile or look at you angrily as well. We influence others by our behaviour.

What we control, and where we really start to create our reality, is in how we perceive/interpret/think about the events in our life that generate our feelings about those events, and how we subsequently respond with our behaviour. Just as you cannot control the thoughts or actions of others, no one can choose your thoughts or actions; those are yours alone. 

You can expect unusual phenomena to show in your life about 2% more often, simply by understanding that your thoughts become the things and events of your life. You can expect wonders to manifest about 25% more often when you not only learn this but also visualize it at least several times a week.  In an attempt to gain some semblance of control we make our resolutions, but to keep them create the idea that they are your new reality and that may be one way that you can actually complete the new year's resolutions you made this year.