This may sound counterintuitive as most of us start the new year by thinking ‘big picture’ and what we hope to accomplish and achieve over the coming twelve months. But this is also in part the reason why so many New Year’s resolutions fail: we bite off more than we can chew.

So, if you are like many of our clients who hope to make this year a happy year filled with more courage and less worrying, more productivity and less procrastination, and more connectivity and less conflict, how about breaking it down into a smaller program? There is a collection of timeless nuggets of wisdom by Sybil Partridge that can increase our portion of ‘la joie de vivre’:

1. Just for today I will be happy. This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true that,”Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.
2. Just for today I will try to adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.
3. Just for today I will take care of my body. I will exercise it, care for it, nourish it, not abuse it nor neglect it, so that it will be a perfect machine for my bidding.
4. Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought, and concentration.
5. Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways: I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out. I will do at least two things I don’t want to do, as William James suggests, “just for exercise.”
6. Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress as becomingly as possible, talk low, act courteously, be liberal with praise, criticize not at all, nor find fault with anything, and not try to regulate nor improve anyone.
7. Just for today I will try to live through this day only, not to tackle my whole life problem at once. I can do things for twelve hours that would appall me if I have to keep them up for a lifetime.
8. Just for today I will have a plan. I will write down what I expect to do every hour. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. It will eliminate two pests – hurrying and indecision.
9. Just for today I will have a quiet half hour all by myself and relax. In this half hour, sometimes, I will think of what my purpose is on this earth so as to get a little more perspective into my life.
10. Just for today I will be unafraid. Especially, I will not be afraid to be happy, to enjoy what is beautiful, to love, and to believe that those I love, love me.