Whether or not New Year’s Resolutions are effective is always a hot topic. Some suggest that it’s really about the psychological trickery that accompanies the idea of a fresh start, with the calendar conveniently providing a mental nudge in that direction.
So even if you missed the ball dropping on December 31, it’s never too late to kickstart that thing you’ve been meaning to do or that change you’ve been wanting to make, whether it’s personal, professional, or a mix of both. After all, time is just a construct, or a flat circle, or Jeremy Bearimy, or a wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey thing, depending on who you ask.
If you need some inspiration to set yourself some resolutions, we asked our First Five Years of Family Practice (FFYFP) Committee if they were making any resolutions this year, and they had some great ones to share:
- Find some new, quick, healthy, toddler-friendly but delicious meals for weeknights, and to get fast at making them! 🙂
- Be more optimistic. Not a very SMART goal, I know, but I’ve noticed my cynicism growing the last few years and want to reverse it!
- Learning French enough to use in medical contexts! I will be spending a year in Montreal next year for my CCFP EM residency!
- Do something active at least 4 times a week!
- Sympathy cards for long term care – I do a fair amount of work in long-term care. Recently, a patient whose family I got to know quite well passed away, and I wanted to do something to acknowledge their loss more personally. I ended up sending them a handwritten sympathy card. Later, I found out that many long-term care sites already send sympathy cards from facility staff after patients pass away, but that physicians may not see and sign them if we do not happen to be rounding on the day they are circulated. So, I bought a pack of cards and envelopes, and have resolved to send a handwritten sympathy card to every patient of mine who passes away in 2025.
Do you have a resolution you’d like to share, advice for our FFYFP committee members on their resolutions, or perhaps an easy recipe that’s been a reliable hit with a toddler in your life? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.