Make Sure Your Decisions Include Three Points
Now that you’ve fully recovered from your New Year’s hangover, it’s time to take those decisions seriously. If you haven’t installed anything, that’s okay; here are some suggestions from celebrities over 100 years ago.
Victorian historian of popular culture Bob Nicholson shared on Twitter Board Edwardian celebrities in 1909; not all solutions apply to life in 2018, but a surprising number of ideas still work. For example, violinist Marie Hall , who decided to “be brave in adversity” and “never despair, no matter how black the future may seem”.
But let’s focus on the advice of the Reverend John W. Horsley, who said that all resolutions should contain the three Ps: they should be “present, specific, and possible.” He expanded on what this means:
However, I am afraid that most people use the future: “I will be better” instead of starting right away, drawing up a certain campaign plan and then saying, “I will do it.”
As far as possibilities are concerned, the decision must be formed with care that stifles eagerness and does not make too great an effort for the present state of body, mind, and condition – although I admit that the temptation is usually the opposite.
This is all very strong advice. We do tend to overextend in the first few weeks of the year, which makes it difficult to follow through on a true plan of action with incremental steps towards growth. Reverend Horsley also advised people to give up alcohol, gambling, and “indifference to religious and social reform,” so he was clearly a guy who had plenty of time to work on himself.
However, if this all sounds like a big nuisance, take the advice of actress Marie Stadholm, who said her decision was to “try to cheer up and stay awake.” A challenge in itself.