It’s time for New Year’s resolutions. (insert groan here.) But let’s try something new. Let’s try making resolutions that we have a fighting chance of keeping for more than 5 days. And to help with that, let’s try making resolutions that inspire us and maybe even others. Resolutions that reward us and fulfill our lives rather than suck the life from us.

Here’s my working list. Feel free to copy, expand from or create new. I’ll let you know how I do.

1) Be a localvore for an entire day (maybe once a month/week/once in awhile) and only eat and drink locally grown/produced food and drinks. The benefit? Support the local economy, expand my horizons and learn a bit more about my own backyard.

2) Make an extra effort to reconnect with a friend, be it near or far, in person, on the phone or via IM - whatever it takes. And by whatever means are available. The benefit? To fix severed connections, to think beyond just myself, to maybe spark a fun moment in someone I care abouts life. What’s not a benefit?

3) Say yes to something that usually gets a pre-programmed no. Before I rule something out as too hard, too boring, too not me, I’m going to give it a new review and perhaps say yes. The benefit? Step out of my comfort zone, be pleasantly surprised, achieve, fail, have the experience.

4) Resurrect old dreams. I can’t say how frequently I’ll do this but I can say I’ll do it with a sense of urgency. The benefit? To remember what I once wanted but gave up, to learn more about myself, to be able to let go of things with peace of mind that can only come from knowing you really tried, to maybe have a dream come true. Who doesn’t want that?

Happy New Year!