Forget New Year’s Resolutions, Embrace New Beginnings

I RECENTLY BECAME A homeowner. Nothing says new beginnings like moving into your first house. It’s been a rough two years, so I am going to really lean into this fresh start.

To be honest, as a chronically single woman, I thought I’d continue apartment renting indefinitely. Need to change a light bulb? Call the landlord. Drain clogged? Call the management company. Yardwork? Never heard of it.

But then the pandemic hit — I adopted a dog — and I realized I didn’t want to be living on top of other people and I wanted my dog to have a backyard. So buying a house became a new goal.

I am telling this story because it was a big goal, daunting even. So I buckled down; paid off my debt, worked on my credit score, and I did it!

Now that I am in the house, I get it. I get why people kept urging me to buy one. Despite the ease of rental life and the fact that I seem to be bleeding money, the sense of satisfaction I feel in having bought it on my own and knowing that it’s all mine, is pretty spectacular. I set a big goal and I accomplished it.

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If there’s a big goal you want to accomplish, check out John Marvin’s column — A Quarter Mile At A Time — on page 45. I wish I’d had his advice before I started.

You know what else? Moving into a new house is also a great opportunity to purge. Most of my stuff has been in boxes for almost two years; unpacking it all will seem like Christmas but I’m also looking forward to removing a lot of it from my life. If you’re also thinking of getting lighter and leaner in the new year — shedding some of that proverbial weight — check out our Big Story on page 32 for 23 tips to do just that.

I know people hate the idea of resolutions — they always seem like a recipe for failure — but we all have something we’d like to accomplish; you don’t have to tie your goals to the start of the new year but why keep putting it off? January 1 is just as good a date as any to start.

Best wishes for your business,