What does the end of one year and the beginning of a new one mean to you? Have you accomplished what you had hoped to accomplish last year? And what about this new year? Do you have a new hope, a new desire to start afresh?

One thing we can always be certain of is there will be change. With some of us it may mean major changes; with others perhaps more subtle ones. As we all age, we know that with the aging process there are changes. Our body will change whether we like it or not.

Did you know that several studies and many doctors say that every seven years the cells in our bodies change chemically? Some research explains that different cells have different lifespans and if you average all the cells as they live, multiply, and die, it takes about seven years for this change to occur completely.

So, we need to be ready for and expect some changes. And, ever since I worked with student advisories for 12 years at Saint Mary’s Hall, a private school in San Antonio, I began to notice a profound difference in my student advisees at the beginning of a new school year if they had followed my suggestion to set new goals for each upcoming new school year.

Those who turned in their goals for me to keep and go over with them each quarter of that year proved to be able to stay focused and seek ways to accomplish those goals. Those who didn’t like to think that far ahead or really didn’t care about doing better usually didn’t. I guess this fits in with making New Year’s resolutions. But so often, if we keep trying to do the same things over and over every year without accomplishment, we lose hope and just give up.

My suggestion, just like the one I advised my advisory to do, is give yourself a different challenge to focus on. Whether it might be to join a new or at least different organization, start a new project of some kind, whether for home or business related, or start reading good books and learning something new. That’s why history fascinates me.

When I start looking at, reading and researching about different people, places, and things, it becomes fascinating and surprising how much there is to find out. History, in itself, is a learning tool. Looking back helps us to recognize things we could have done better, opportunities we missed, and helps us to move forward with more confidence, at least that we will try not to make the same mistake again.

Of course, we really have only the present to live in. And, even about that, we’re not sure how long that will be. That’s why I’m sharing this with all of you.

Set some new goals, look at how things can be better and then have “A Happy New Year!”