A New Year and a New Resolution

The tradition of New Year's Resolutions originates before the birth of Christ.  When Julius Caesar developed a solar calendar, the first month was named for the Roman god Janus.  Janus possessed two faces and  it was said that one looked back on the old year and the other forward into the coming year.  It became a tradition to seek forgiveness and exchange gifts of good fortune at the start of each year.

And so, over the centuries, the tradition has become to make a self-promise of life changes at the start of the new year.

I'm not so sure about this, personally.  I've never had much luck with resolutions, always blaming my lack of will power for my lack of success.  Cruising around the internet, I stumbled across the following article from The Wall Street Journal.  Turns out will power has little or nothing to do with follow-through.

With a new perspective, maybe it's time to make a New Year's resolution.

My goal for the coming year is better balance.  Especially in the last several months, I've felt as if my life were spiraling somewhat out of control.  I have a slightly manic personality and it means high highs, low lows and some pretty scary shifts from one to the other.  It also results in a tendency to be gung-ho in the beginning and then become completely derailed by the most minor of hiccups.  It's not fun.

What I want is balance.  To be able to balance working full time with playing with my horses.  To be able to balance the time I want to spend with my horses with the time required to keep my house running smoothly.  To be able to spend time with family and friends and time alone to recharge.  To have what I need now and a way towards what I want later.  To take care of myself and still give to others.

It seems a lot considering that I've never managed to carry a resolution past the first week of the new year.  But like coins dropped into a piggy bank, a little change here and another little change there soon adds up.