Be optimistic for the new year

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- As each of us faces the new year we all hope that it will be a good one for us. The most important point about this desire is that how the new year turns out for us is for the most part more dependent on our own efforts than any other consideration.

In other words, for most people the new year depends more on them than any other factor. The best thing about this situation is that for most people there are sure fire things they can do to make things better that cannot be stopped by outside forces. It is instructive to mention some of the things that you can do to make things get better.

First of all, have a positive attitude. While it is often easier to be negative than positive you usually achieve much more while being positive.

When you are positive you recognize constructive opportunities and go after them more readily and with more vigor.

 

Getting down to specifics putting more time and energy into your job usually has positive results. Learning new skills is almost always a beneficial thing.

Continue with your education. This does not mean that you have to enroll in school somewhere; all you have to do is read good books and talk to informed people in the areas you are trying to learn about. My favorite comment about education comes from the movie, “Good Will Hunting,” when the main character commented that the people at Harvard are paying several hundred thousand dollars for an education they could get for several dollars with a library card from the Boston Public Library.

Build your relationship with your spouse or significant other.

Learn a new language, get more exercise, quit smoking and cut down on your alcohol intake. These are all constructive things that depend on you alone and cannot be stopped by outside forces.

Be sure to beef up your savings and investment program. The phrase, ”I’ll start next year when I have more money” is reserved for losers.

Looking at the negative side, look to reduce or eliminate habits and practices that are counterproductive. If you can find anything good about recreational drugs or excessive drinking, I would like to know what they are.

Non-necessary and non-productive expenditure of your resources (time and money) should be kept within reasonable bounds. When seeking opinions about business undertakings, avoid people who are failing at business and talk to people who are succeeding. By the same token, try to avoid people who are down on life and associate with people who are habitually up.

With these thoughts in mind, be optimistic about the new year. How it turns out depends more on yourself than any other factor.

NSBNews.net is Florida's first fully-online 24/7 Internet newspaper launched April 7, 2008, and based in New Smyrna Beach. It is led by award-winning journalist Henry Frederick and award-winning blogger Peter Mallory with emphasis on breaking news, news of record and investigative reporting here and across the Sunshine State.