Welcome to 2012!

Welcome to The New You!

I have taken to using the new year greeting Happy New You over the last few years because I feel it is so fitting of what the change of the year SHOULD be about, bettering yourself and becoming a happier new you.

In the last few years we’ve seen so many things that we never thought we would: Barack Obama as the first Black President of the U.S., the tsunami in Japan, the tragic events on the Gulf Coast, Casey Anthony, Jerry Sandusky,  the death of Michael Jackson, the death of Steve Jobs, earthquakes in Haiti, Asia and even in Philadelphia, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods…

In the midst of all these things, I wonder how many of us really pay attention to how what we do affects life around us. The Butterfly Effect.  When I think of how that relates to everything we’ve seen over the last few years, it seems simple to me how all of this is connected; each action creating another action.

Becoming a better person isn’t just about the usual “resolutions” people make when 12AM hits. I am a firm believer in setting real, attainable goals instead of fleeting, grand gestures that are often out of reach. I think it’s about the smaller things; laughing more, being a better listener, getting closer to your family and friends, giving more time and resources to charity, becoming a mentor, volunteering in your community…

When we relegate our goals only to losing 30 pounds in the month of January or finding a new relationship and getting married by 2013, we limit our view of being a better person only to the  things that we can do for ourselves and lose our power and the ability to change the world around us in the process.

I’m not saying I haven’t written some goals into my 2012 manifesto that don’t include taking stock of my love life, my health or my finances, I’m just saying that I also included very attainable and extremely satisfying ideals of doing some volunteer work, creating a non-profit, spending more time with loved ones, and many more things I can do to help the people in my immediate cypher that will ripple out to affect others in ways my heart and mind cannot yet fathom in the wee hours of 2012…

So, what are your goals? What do you plan to do in 2012 to make this a Happy New You?

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