Date: January 1, 2015
Location: Synergia Ranch, Santa Fe, New Mexico
New Year’s Day is my favorite holiday. Why? Because what could be better than welcoming the future by remembering old friends, saying good-bye to what’s past, starting afresh, kissing and hugging those near you—and celebrating all that with the entire world?
(For really, doesn’t the whole world use the Gregorian calendar and arrive at New Year’s on the same day? Oh, I know there’s the international date-line and time zones; there’s the Jewish lunisolar calendar that’s used to determine religious observances; there’s the Islamic calendar based on an event in the life of the prophet Muhammad; and there’s the Chinese lunar calendar with the new year date sometime between January 21 and February 20, but I think New Year’s Day may be the only truly global holiday, celebrated in all nations, regardless of religion or politics. Yes?)
Hmm. Is the making of resolutions also so universal? I wonder.
In any case, here’s a fresh idea that could replace, or at least modify, the practice of making resolutions that we so often connect with New Year’s.
This brilliant idea came to me from Warren Berger, via his blog and website, amorebeautifulquestion.com, and the youtube video, “The Power of Questions to Get Things Done.” Berger says research shows that resolutions set us up for failure. He proposes “questolutions” instead—“a resolution put in the form of a question.” He says questions are more engaging than statements, they spark ideas and solutions, and they get the brain working. New Year’s questolutions could start with “What if…” or “How might I…”, among other wording options.
So I sat down and formulated a few questolutions for myself for 2015:
What two simple practices would best help me stay healthy?
What do I want and need to do to support myself in learning Spanish?
What might I enjoy creating next?
How might I help myself maintain interest in blogging?
What do I need to allow into my psyche and mind to help my writing voice be more authentic and lively?
What is the larger life I’m being called to live?
What if I consistently saved 3% of my income to spend on art?
What if I consistently read books for at least 30 minutes a day?
I’m grateful for these questolutions. I realize some are big and open-ended; others are specific and action-oriented. But they’re stimulating new thoughts and a sense of purpose in me. Which is exactly what questions are supposed to do.
Oh, it feels like 2015 is going to be a good year! Do you feel that, too?