A New Year’s resolution all Americans should consider

Welcome to 2024. And before we go any further, let’s say good riddance to 2023. What a cruel and horrible year, the kind that breaks your heart and wounds your soul. We can all be glad it’s over, even though it’s likely that some of that heartbreak will carry over to this year. As we greet the new year, I’ve decided to stop delegating, and take charge of the planning. Like the saying goes, if you want something done, do it yourself. So, I’ve taken it upon myself to chart the course ahead, not just for me, but for all Americans. You’re welcome.

Here is my New Year’s resolution for the 340 million people who occupy this wild and crazy country with all the quirks and idiosyncrasies.

We need to stop wishing for prosperity, which is commonly defined as success, wealth and fame, and instead resolve to become better people. Simply that, just that. Because guess what? That is not as simple as it sounds.

Achieving that goal of becoming better people begins with trying to make sure that every single one of your personal interactions with fellow human beings this year is positive and uplifting. Think about the impression you’re making, and make sure it’s a good one. What’s the cost of that? What does that really cost? Absolutely nothing. You can take your belief seriously without always doing the same with yourself. You’re no better or worse than anyone else. We’re all struggling, every day, to complete this marathon through this thing called life.

Here’s what you want to do: You want to make sure people feel good for meeting you and having spent time in your company. You want to listen more, talk less, communicate clearly, and show genuine interest in getting to know people. You want to ask to hear their stories, and then really pay attention. You want to be compassionate, curious, kind and caring. You want to be understanding, empathetic and open-minded. You want to think critically and resist the temptation to be sanctimonious, condescending or snarky. You want to let people know that they don’t have to agree with you in order for you to respect their opinion.

Most of all, you want to do what you can to bring this divided country together, instead of furthering the process of tearing it apart.

A while back, I can’t say exactly when it happened, but sometime in the last generation or two, Americans completely lost the ability to consider a different point of view. We became 100% sure of ourselves, and could no longer conceive of the possibility that maybe we’re wrong about something. That is especially true in politics, where as you may have noticed, no one is ever wrong about anything.

Of course, human beings are not built that way. We’re wrong about a lot of things on the regular. So, a healthy dose of humility is a good thing to have. It serves us well in life, and preserves our personal relationships. And it serves society well, too.

When we’re in short supply of that commodity, the collective tends to go haywire. Unfortunately, that’s where America is now. Many of our institutions are broken and in need of repair, or at least a reboot. Public trust in media and government is at all-time lows. People question each other’s motives and look down on one another. No matter which party wins the presidential election later this year, you can be sure that the opposing party will yell foul. If Republicans lose, they’ll accuse Democrats of voter fraud. If Democrats lose, they’ll blame Republicans for what they’ll call voter intimidation. Claiming success is easy. But no one ever wants to own failure. We probably can’t fix the political parties — who can — but we can fix ourselves. We can be better people. And this is the year to make that goal a reality. Happy New Year.