Why this one verbal maneuver beats making resolutions

Where would you like 2022 to take you? Do you believe that making New Year's resolutions will help?

Confession: I haven't made resolutions in January for years now. I realized there was something sad about the whole thing. It invariably means looking back at the previous year with dismay, finding fault with yourself and then coming up with punitive ways of moving forward.

Once I took on a more positive approach, the days and weeks following the first of the year became breezier. What I do now is choose a word or group of words that will be my compass for the year: something to consult when it seems I've lost my way, something to get me back on track.

At the beginning of 2020, my words were "healthy happy home." My intention was to transform my home environment so it better fit the person I'd become. Those words guided me through the many steps of the process, keeping me from getting tired or discouraged.

Not only that, they assisted me once the pandemic hit: I was already creating a safe haven well before all the isolation time kicked in. The words were so successful that I adopted them for 2021 as well, and by the end of last year my home was even better than what I'd first envisioned.

For 2022, my intention is to reverse the harmful consequences of two years worth of distancing. So, after mulling it over, I chose two words as my compass – "closer together" – inspired by the eighties music video I featured in the December 1 edition of guy.

It's early days, but already those five simple syllables are taking hold of my life and changing it.

What are your words this year? It's not too late to cast aside your misbegotten resolutions and adopt this simpler, happier method of setting 2022's course.

If you're comfortable sharing them, please do. I'm listening – and I'm here to support you, in January and beyond.