Be Positive

Today, I have made a mind map.

Be kind. Be patient. Be positive.

I like the idea of a blank page. A fresh start. A new approach. I don't want to make resolutions about being fitter, or eating more healthily, or having more hobbies. There are things I wish to achieve by this time next year, there are things I want to do by this time next week.

January is a gloomy month. Dark, wet, desolate. So, I'm going to be better to other people.

Be kind, lend my time, an ear. Send a letter, or a package. Meet up and make plans with friends. Give compliments, offer help, take on additional tasks. Cook meals for others, spend time in favoured company, play games together. Keep the Brownie Guide Law: a Brownie thinks of others before herself and does a good turn every day. I tell them to keep it, but do I check myself? Thinking of others is not just offering first use of the red pencil, but also considering feelings and responding appropriately to them. Empathy is a hard skill to master, but I think it starts with simply being kind.

Be patient. I am often quick to be frustrated, quick to give up, scared to try new things. Patience isn't something that comes easily to me. I do get annoyed readily, with situations as well as people. I get upset by not seeing change quickly enough, and yet tend to avoid taking small steps in the right direction. I need to remind myself to take a moment, take a breath, keep my thoughts and temperament on track and try to be better at putting things in perspective and understanding other people.

Be positive. It's easy to focus on the bad stuff, but equally, it's not actually that hard to recall all the good; to do good. It might take a bit of adjustment to natural thought processes and usual patterns but I hope that if I keep reminding myself, I might be able to make a habit of being happy.

Being happy. Really, that's the ultimate aim of most resolutions.