You don’t have to think overly hard to come up with a resolution for yourself. Making promises to start a new year has become as cliché as the promises themselves — and then breaking those promises on Feb. 4th.
Lose weight. Stop smoking. Drink less (alcohol, pop, coffee, etc.).
Each one of those resolutions are indeed purposeful. Doing one, or all of the above will make your life better. Your blood pressure will go down, and you will feel better physically.
But what about feeling better emotionally? The answer is simple.
You can do the weight loss challenge, and you can cut back on your Diet Coke, or buy some nicotine patches, and that’s great. More power to ya. But these are all self-serving acts.
How about making a resolution that will — wait for it — benefit others?
There is one thing you can resolve to do in 2026 that has nothing to do with your wasteline or systolic. And it takes very little effort. Heck, you don’t even need willpower.
Just. Be. Better. Be kinder. Be nicer. I know, that sounds cliché, too. And it is. But what a wonderful cliché it is.
You will have your bad days in 2026, that’s for sure. You will have days when you just don’t feel in the mood to smile at someone. We all will. However, this particular resolution has nothing to do with you.
This has to do with everyone else.
How about the cashier at the gas station or grocery store? How about giving him or her a break? Maybe don’t complain when gas goes up a few cents. Perhaps don’t question him or her about this whole penny thing. That cashier might be at the end of a 10hour, standing-room-only shift. Their feet might hurt. Or their back. Or they have some problems at home that are on their mind. What about the old man driving 45 on the highway? Don’t give him a dirty look as you pass him, even if you are in a hurry. Just respect him.
And speaking of respect, how about we try to respect others’ opinions?
Yes, I’m talking about politics. As we all know, this country is as divided politically as it’s been, at least since I’ve been alive. You can blame Trump, but why? For political reasons? Because you think he’s an ass? Because you’re a staunch Democrat and you think you have to hate him?
No, we can’t all get along. It’s naive to believe we can, and ridiculous to think that there was a time when we did. But getting along is different than having mutual respect.
If you find yourself in a politicallycharged conversation with someone, listen to them. Open your mind. What do you get out of pre-determining that anything that comes out of their mouth is wrong. Let them have their say, and you can have yours. Hopefully, that other person will be adult enough to at least patronize you, and you them. Better yet, they might admit you make a good point. Perish the thought.
You don’t have to necessarily agree with everyone, but do we have to be so close-minded that we won’t even give someone the benefit of the doubt? Let’s figuratively separate ourselves from the rest of this country, which it could be argued, is too far gone to save. Let’s, in our small corner of this world, be mature and reasonable enough to carry open minds and open hearts. Why do we have to hurt like everyone else?
If your goal in 2026 is to lose weight, I’m cheering for you. If you somehow eliminate purchasing a carton of Marlboro Lights from your morning routine, I’m proud of you, because both of those things are extremely difficult to accomplish. What’s not that difficult to do is practice respect for others. Agree to disagree for cryin’ out loud.
You’ll be a better person for it — not just in this new year, but maybe forever.
