So here we are! It's a shiny new year; a shiny new decade. What are you going to make of it?

It seems to be a time-honored tradition to use the turn of the year to make lots of *"plans and resolutions"* for how to improve our lives; even how to improve *ourselves.*

I'm not knocking that — planning and *"resolving to do"* can be great tools, but for a great many people they are also a path to disappointment and disillusion. 

How so? Around the turn of the year we often feel (peer) pressured into saying that *"we are going to do and change"* a bunch of things we are not really ready to change.

![0848-Leaf.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmScALMoGeRy9w9ZwbwvjJ1Fa2yF1KEZaf2PQ9Q89vRKF6/0848-Leaf.jpg)
*Leaves in the sun*

## *It Has Been a Long Time...*

... since I have made any formal *"New Year's Resolutions."* 

I find it a lot easier to *just MAKE changes* whenever the mood and inspiration strikes me. In fact, I'd say I have something on the order of a 75% success rate, when it comes to changing things in my life... especially when it includes part two of my *"strategy:"* Don't *tell* anyone you've made some major change.

I let people notice and discover that for themselves. Or not. Of course, we all have different temperaments, but I have never found it particularly productive to put pressure on myself by saying things like *"I'm going to lose 25lbs by next Christmas."* It works much better when I simply make it an *internal goal* that I try to follow through with.

![0877-Thistle.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTGrqmWxL24Ew3tedkXAzqwnQ4i76ALb97MweJUYSc6q9/0877-Thistle.jpg)
*Thistle flower*

## *Making Assessments and Measurements*

What I *do* tend to do, around the turn of the year, is record a bunch of benchmarks for my own edification, so I can refer back to them later.

For example, I may or may not train to run a 10K race in a specific time by this summer... but I *will* keep a track of what my current time is at the turn of the year, just so I have that information on hand as a *"benchmark"* to refer back to.

Simply *recording* some fact or bit of data doesn't mean I am pressuring myself to *do* something with it... although I tend to be *"sneaky competitive"* with myself so it often turns out that I'll be glad I had the original information!

![1004-Buddha.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmbLTSDurmoRPmyawp1GeofsADW2HUVyzM3HAjgLNZhcvb/1004-Buddha.jpg)
*Time for reflection...*

## *Self-Improvement: It's About YOU, not about OTHER PEOPLE!*

The key concept in so-called *"self-improvement"* is that it is ultimately about *ourselves.* 

Hence, one of the reasons people so often fail in their New Year's Resolutions is that they take on some *"thing"* in order to please or impress *other people,* rather than *themselves.* And that pretty much always ends badly, because it's the *wrong* motivator.

Which is why I find the whole idea of making resolutions at a New Year's party rather ridiculous,,,

Anyway, there are definitely some *"things"* am hoping to accomplish this year, but I'm not going to share what they are! You'll just have to come back at the end of the year and see if I write about *"having accomplished"* certain things in 2020!

Thanks for reading!

*(Another **#creativecoin** creative non-fiction post)*

***Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!***

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*(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform.)
Created at 20200102 18:18 PST*
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