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Do you make New Year’s resolutions and do you achieve them?

Posted on 5th January, 2026

These are mine:

I’m going to remove the weight that I put back on over Christmas by the end of this month – then I’m going to lose another few kilos before my good friend returns from a three month stay in New Zealand with her family.

From now on I’m not going to do things just because for most of my life I’ve always done them.  Every morning I carefully put back the heavy quilt and arrange the five pillows just to take it all off again when I go to bed. What a waste of time and energy that is.  If I don’t feel like doing more than straightening the blankets then that’s what I’ll do.

I’m going to put me first – as long as it doesn’t impinge on anyone else’s happiness. I don’t mean that I’m going to be selfish – that I’m going to stop giving 6% of my income to charity – it just means I don’t have that many years ahead when I’m going to be feeling well enough to do things and am going to make the most of it whilst I can. If I don’t want to go out, get dressed, do the housework, then I won’t do it. If I’m asked to drive 30 miles to see someone I don’t want to see then I’ll make a polite excuse and not go. My mental health and physical well-being must come first – but never before that of my family and dear friends.

I’m going to live in the present, not dwell on the past, and not worry about the future.  That said, I’ve joined the Green Party, which is definitely thinking about the future – not mine, I don’t think, but that of my my son, daughter-in-law and grandson.

I’m going to keep writing a minimum of three books every year as long as I can because I love to write and I also love the wonderful royalties I receive.

I’ve already prepaid and arranged my funeral, my will is written, and I just have to do a few more things and then I can forget about my demise knowing I’ve left everything in good order for my son and daughter-in-law who are my executors.

That’s it – I’ve made an excellent start today and intend to keep going with these until my birthday in May.  Good luck if you’ve made resolutions too. I’ll let you know when I achieve any of these in future blogs.

Fenella J Miller