“We must think anew, and act anew.” – Abraham Lincoln
Did anyone in history understand the importance of thinking and acting anew more than Abraham Lincoln? When President Lincoln wrote the words above, his beloved country was facing its darkest hour: The Civil War. He wrote, “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. We must think anew, and act anew.”
2010 is on our doorstep. In fact, as I’m typing these words, he’s making his way into many homes. The type of house guest he’ll become is, to a large extent up to us. If we are able to approach old problems with new solutions, he may be the finest house guest we’ve ever had. However, if we keep doing that which isn’t quite good enough, he’ll be like the overbearing uncle that always wears out his welcome as he wears out our nerves.
Thinking and acting anew is pretty much what New Year’s Resolutions are all about. When the man who is 40 pounds overweight sits down with his pen and paper and writes “Eat out less often…. Walk for 30 minutes each day…. No more fries!… etc.” he is, in fact, finding new approaches to 40 old problems. In the period of time that he spends with his pen and paper, his mind searches for new actions that’ll solve his problem, new ideas that’ll lead him to a happier and healthier life. If he just wrote “Lose weight” on his paper, he wouldn’t be making a resolution as much as he’d be making a wish.
If you want your own New Year’s Resolutions to help guide you along the path to making your dreams come true, be specific. Take specific problems and come up with specific solutions.
As one of the greatest Americans to ever live said, “We must think anew, and act anew.”
I’d like to take the opportunity to wish you the happiest and healthiest 2010 imaginable. I hope you laugh daily, love deeply, and live life as it’s meant to be lived – out loud and with a smile on your face. If you have big dreams, I hope you’ll never quit running toward them and if you have high hopes, I hope you never quit reaching for them. God bless you and those you dearly love! Happy New Year! – Joi