Submitted by Mary Martin

There is something alluring for me about standing on the threshold of a New Year. It’s a time to reflect back on the past year with all its mistakes, successes, doubts, new awareness, etc. By the same token, I also am challenged with how to embark on this New Year without carrying forward last year’s unwanted marks. Sort of like trying to make a snow angel without marring it with a footprint!

In a recent discussion with friends about making New Year’s resolutions, I admitted that I had given up making resolutions years ago because I never disciplined myself to follow through. However, I did and still do feel that embarking on a New Year is a good time to take stock of where I have been and where I want to go.

Later that week, I heard someone on the radio suggest that if the New Year’s resolutions don’t stick maybe they weren’t the right ones to begin with. This caught my attention and prompted me to reflect back to when I had decided not to set myself up to fail with resolutions.

It all began years ago when I was facilitating a spiritual discovery group at work. It was our first group in a new year and we were looking at 4-R rather than making resolutions. The 4 R’s we used were Review, Regrets, Rewards and Reset as a guide to reflect on and evaluate the past year and to set goals for the New Year. Our discussion focused on what we could and need to do for a meaningful reset to happen because without plans, strategies etc., the reset would be ineffective.

My reset that day was to fear less and love more and this reset/resolution has stuck. This reaffirms for me that I have found the right one. However, this is more than a New Year’s resolution for me – it is also a lifestyle choice. So to stay focused and committed, I need to press the reset as I embark on a pristine New Year.

There have been times when I have needed to do a reset before the year was up and that was okay too. Just as that spiritual discovery group knew that in order to be successful there needed to be action, so too must I be conscious of how or when I allow fear to limit me in any way.

So with each reset I ask for help to first recognize and then act on the fears that would hinder my ability to be authentic in my approach to life and in all my relationships (including with myself). As I move forward into 2015, I remind myself again to fear less and love more!

Feel free to join me…