Mental Matters
By Jennifer Goble

Someone once said to me, “Are you ever going to be satisfied?” I said, “I hope not!”

Not one of my favorite moments, but the question and answer visit my thoughts when a new year begins. Do our goals for the new year include satisfaction with where we are and what we are doing, or do they add a little dissatisfaction that might promote growth, change, and improvement?

I think a balance of gratitude and challenge is a healthy recipe for a New Year’s resolution, whether prompted by the beginning of a new year or just because it is healthy and wise. Webster’s definition of resolution includes the words, analyzing, determining, and solving. It is a process of assessing the whole big picture of your life, deciding, devising a plan, and then giving it your all.

Myself, I don’t make New Year Resolutions, although, after a month of overdoing everything, I probably need a gym membership and my jaw wired shut. I do look forward to moderation returning to my daily schedule.

A quote by singer and songwriter Reba McEntire: “To thrive in life, you need three bones: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone. You need the backbone to face life’s struggles, a funny bone so you can laugh at yourself when times are tough, and a wishbone because you can’t give up on your dreams.”

What clever and simple words to motivate our decisions. Personally, laughter pushes me forward, shifting worry or fear into new possibilities. Seeing humor in my troubles lightens the load so I can shake off whatever negativity is keeping me down. I’m in trouble if I can’t find the silly, but I also need to remember I have the core to keep wishing.

How many times have you needed the backbone to shake off hurt or regret, regroup, and keep going? How often do you gaze out the window dreaming of a seemingly unreachable goal? I’ll bet too, you have laughed along the way.

As you stand between the two, (2018 and 2019) what should you do? What do you want? On the mental health side of choices, remember to include balance, rejoice in your gifts and capabilities, and be kind to yourself and others. Stay in the present more than the past or future, and you could discover a stronger backbone, renewed freedom to wish, and many more belly laughs.

In 2019: Live while you live — every day.

Jennifer Goble, Ph.D., LPC, is the author of “My Clients…My Teachers,” and the blogger and writer of Rural Women Stories: www.ruralwomenstories.com.

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