We have now started a new year, marking new beginnings, new chapters, and new times. It is customary to look back on the previous year and make resolutions to improve ourselves for the new one. I find this tradition to be a very special one. It is a time to be honest with yourself, to reflect on what went well during the year and what didn’t. Unfortunately, many people don’t always take it seriously. We think of the easier things to make resolutions about- reading more, being more organized, exercising more, etc. The resolutions usually last a couple of weeks and then we somehow forget about the resolutions. So how am I starting a New Year 2017.
But this year, I want to really reflect on 2016 and make resolutions that really stick.
I want things to be different. I don’t want to make New Year’s Resolutions that don’t stick. I don’t want to forget about these resolutions after a few weeks. I don’t want to begin making excuses like ‘It’s too cold,’ ‘It’s too early,’ or ‘I don’t have time.’ This year I am making resolutions that I can make happen. So, here it goes:
This year I want to improve my hand- eye coordination.
For many who now me, I’m not the most coordinated person on the planet. I trip a lot; I feel like a cartoon every time I do a cardio class on YouTube at home; I once even spilled hot tea on myself and burned my hand.
But by the end of 2017, I am not going to be that cartoon throwing myself around while watching YouTube videos at home. With each exercise I can feel myself getting more coordinated, more flexible. And I’ve noticed I’m slowly tripping less when walking down the street, guiding, and going through my day.
My goal for the New Year is that every time I have the urge to make excuses, like ‘it’s too cold to exercise’ (which does happen in Israel), I remind myself I don’t have to leave the warmth and comfort of my own home. I can just open up YouTube and get moving. I can improve my hand- eye coordination. I just need the right focus and determination.
In 2017, I aim to make my guiding even better.
Being a tour guide in Israel is a lot of work. It takes two years of learning just to take the tests. But it’s still a lot of work after becoming licensed and even more work to being a good guide. It requires looking back on each trip and evaluating what went well and what didn’t for the next trip. That is a very important part of the improvement process.
I’ve had some great trips in 2016. I’ll remember them fondly moving forward. As 2016 has come to an end, I’ve come up with some great ideas to make my trips even better. I aim to bring those ideas into my guiding on trips. I will work toward always evaluating a trip at the end and work toward being the best tour guide I can.
I want to say something nice to myself every day.
Life can be hard. The daily wear can be tough. Beauracracy can be tougher. Sometimes we can get into a low, with running to work, dropping kids to school, going shopping, paying the bills. When this happens and things get intense, it’s easy to get down on yourself. During 2017, I want to work on sending myself good messages during these low points.
I aim to be creative with this goal: whether it be leaving a positive note taped to the bathroom mirror, or telling myself consciously something nice.
In 2017, I aim to tell someone how grateful I am that I have them in my life at least once a week.
Along similar lines, there are people in our lives who help us tremendously, especially during those tough times. There are people in my life who have helped me so much from teaching me Hebrew, to giving me directions, to helping me plan my wedding. It is easy to forget to thank them for helping us when we needed it. Starting this year, I aim to take one time a week to find someone who has helped me and thank them. It can be for something small, like giving me a heads-up about a job opening, or for something bigger like teaching me in an educational course.
In 2017, I aim to be more grateful for the people who help me with this big, wide world.ֿ
It is my all-time goal to advocate for the State of Israel through guiding, blogging, and reaching out to people around the world.
We hear a lot of things about Israel in the News, on TV, and on College Campuses. It’s can be an intimidating, foggy, and confusing. It can be true, or it can be a bunch of lies. It’s not easy to separate it all, and figure out what is going on. I think that in many ways tour guiding is advocacy on a very basic level. When you’re here, you can see what’s happening. You don’t need to rely on newspapers, television, and fellow college students. You can see what is true and what is not; things can become really clear really fast.
Therefore, I view my job as sifting through all the information that we get, making sense of it all, and advocating for the truth of what really is happening in this amazing country we call Israel.
During 2017, I will do all I can to advocate correctly and efficiently for the State of Israel.
My last goal is to give you the best trip to Israel you could possibly imagine!
The last of my goals in 2017 is to give you the best trip in Israel you could possibly imagine! I love my job—in fact I think I have the best job! I love travelling the country and exploring it with people from around the world. I learn so much from these people. Because I love my job so much, I promise that I will give you a trip to Israel that you will never forget.
A trip filled with learning, growing, and a good time. This is the most important goal for 2017!
