2014 Challenge

We've all heard it before. "I'm going to be a better person in 2014." or "I'm going to lose 20 pounds this year." or "I'm going to quit spending every waking hour staring at a screen."

And I think we all know how these so-called "resolutions" turn out. You'll follow it for a couple of days, maybe skip dessert once or twice before deciding that you really don't have the motivation to get up early in the morning to run around the block. Or you say something mean to someone and realize that your resolution to be nicer has already been broken, and you decide not to follow through with it.

Do you ever wonder why no one goes through with their resolutions? Perhaps it's because the idea of a "new year- new me" idea is cliche. Perhaps we make resolutions that we don't intend to keep in the first place.

Or maybe, just maybe, we're going about personal growth the wrong way.

I decided in 2014, to make a commitment to making no commitments. 
That's right. Of course, I wrote down some things I'd like to see happen in 2014, but I didn't make a promise to myself at midnight or do any sort of ritual.

Instead, I decided to do something simple. I decided to write every day. And I don't mean add content to a story, or anything like that. No, instead, every night, I write down something that made me happy during the day. Then I throw each note into a shoe box that I keep in my room.

Because when it's 2015, I don't want to remember a bunch of meaningless resolutions that I never went through with. I don't want to remember that I promised to lose 10 pounds and I didn't do it. I don't want to remember that I didn't finish my novel.

Instead, I want to read through all of my notes, and remember each event that made me smile throughout the year.

I challenge you to do the same.