A New Approach to New Year's Resolutions

Forget the typical resolutions, this way is far more fun.

Breaking News: New Year's resolutions exposed for predatory behavior, promising instant transformation while delivering unused gym memberships, barely-touched bullet journals, and failed juice cleanses.

Let's be honest: it’s time to cancel New Year’s Resolutions. The big, sweeping promises we make to ourselves—as if our lives can be transformed simply because the calendar flips to January 1st—need to go. This year, rather than doing more of something I don’t enjoy or striving to do something I’ve failed at in the past, I’m trying something new. It all started with a story I heard at Carol Weston's prompt session at the New York Society Library.

One of the regulars there, Beau, shared that every New Year's Eve, he writes a list of 100 things he wants to do in the coming year. But here's the twist—they're not big, life-changing goals. They're small things. Little moments and experiences that make life richer, more interesting, and more fun.

It reminded me of another storyteller who influenced my thinking about marking time and experience. Lydia Warren writes a blog called "Today's the Day I..." which documents different adventures she embarks upon—big or small. She doesn’t do something every day or every week; she does something when inspiration strikes, and when she has the time.

Inspired by both Beau and Lydia, on New Year’s Eve, I’ll complete a list of things I want to do in 2025. Here's a peek at what's on it so far:

• Go on Fishs Eddy secret museum tour.

• Experience the sound installation in Times Square (I discovered this, thanks to Lydia’s blog post!)

• Take Carolina to the Unisphere, a massive steel globe in Queens built for the 1964 World's Fair.

• Get a scalp massage.

• Eat at the original Patsy’s Pizza.

These aren't life-changing goals. They're not about becoming a different person. They're about making space for moments of joy and discovery.

Speaking of marking time in meaningful ways, Lydia Warren did something else that caught my attention: she recorded one second of video every day for a year. When strung together, these tiny moments create a beautiful tapestry of mundane and extraordinary memories.

Cover of my Day at a Time book.

This resonates with my photo a day project from years ago, when I took a photo every day for a year. At the end of the year, I compiled the images into a visual diary of 365 moments that made me realize how much I had seen, learned, and appreciated that year.

A photographer friend, Ashley, does something similar, sharing her daily photo on Instagram. It's remarkable how this simple practice can transform an ordinary day, making you pause to notice a moment of beauty in an otherwise mundane moment.

Here's to making 2025 a year of small things that matter.

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Words of the Week

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." —Maya Angelou

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Photo of the Week

A lion covered in ivy at the Elizabeth Street Garden.

I came across this lion in a sanctuary in the city, the Elizabeth Street Garden. The green space has become controversial in the past year as the city (which owns the land) has plans to raze the garden and turn the space into a housing development. The garden's future remains in flux. A passionate group of preservationists and volunteers are fighting to keep this secret garden around for the enjoyment of the community.

I took this photo in September 2024 but chose to share it today as a metaphor for how we might approach the new year—not with roaring resolutions, but with the gentle persistence of ivy, creating change one memory at a time that turns our world more beautiful.

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