I'm generally big on setting goals and making lists. I like having an aim, plotting my course and tracking my progress. The trouble is now that I stop to think about it that approach hasn't always served me well. Sometimes it works; it's great for big projects at work and for things like planning holidays or big things like that. But so often it's sucked the joy out of things for me, dried them out and made them unpalatable. This year I have no plans to make and stick to new years resolutions. There are things I want to do, sure, but I don't want to sacrifice the present moment to them.
What I'm getting at is that whilst goal setting is valuable and sometimes the only way through, when over-used it can mean pushing aside the good stuff in your life right now to the back of your mind, in favour of focussing on something that's yet to come. So what I've pledged to myself for 2015 is to re-learn how to enjoy what I have in my life now. That could mean simply dwelling in the moment and enjoying it to the full, or making the best use of the things I have instead of rushing out to buy something newer or just different. I do love the simple things in life but I think, like most people, my thoughts drift ahead too much and I end up either wishing my life away as I look forward to something, or else I worry myself sick over things that may not ever happen.
I love the quote at the start of this post because I really believe it's true; focussing on the simple joys each of us is lucky enough to possess brings such happiness, even in the midst of hard times. I know this from experience and it's a lesson that's deeply enriched my life, and always will.