By Grandpa
No apologies. No sugarcoating. Just the truth.
As we say goodbye to 2025 and welcome in 2026, I want to start with this: I truly hope you had a good year. And if you didn’t, I hope 2026 treats you a whole lot better.
Like every year, 2025 probably had its ups and downs. That’s life. Nobody gets a smooth ride the whole way through, we just hope there are more ups than downs, and that the downs don’t knock us flat on our backs for too long.
Now that it’s a new year, here come the New Year’s resolutions. You know the ones.
“I’m joining a gym.”
Yeah… sure you are.
January 1st through about January 10th is the busiest time of the year for gyms. Parking lots are packed, machines are full, and everyone is suddenly a fitness expert. Then by February? Crickets. In fact, I’ve heard people say never join a gym in January, wait until February or March when the crowds disappear and the prices magically drop. Funny how that works.
Another popular resolution is “I’m going to eat better.” That one usually lasts about a month. Sometimes less. Most resolutions do. That’s why I haven’t made a New Year’s resolution in years, I know myself well enough to admit I probably wouldn’t follow through, and I’m not interested in lying to myself.
But I did hear something on the radio a few days ago about New Year’s resolutions that actually made me stop and think. It was a simple idea, and honestly, a pretty good one, if you had the willpower to stick with it.
Here it is:
Every morning when you wake up, pick one person from your contacts and send them something nice to start their day. Nothing big. Just a simple message like, “Hey, hope you have a great day today.” That’s it.
It could be short and sweet.
It could be a longer message.
It could be an uplifting meme.
Just something kind.
Now, if you’re like me, you don’t have 365 people in your contacts. I don’t even think I have 52 to do it once a week. But I know I’ve got at least 12, so I could technically do it once a month.
Will I?
Probably not, because again, I know myself.
But I’ll tell you this: if someone actually followed through with that for a whole year, they’d probably make a bigger impact than any gym membership or diet plan ever could. A kind word goes a long way these days, and we could all use a little more of that.
So with that said, I genuinely hope you have the absolute best year possible. I hope 2026 brings you good health, some peace of mind, and maybe even a few reasons to smile when things get tough.
That’s enough outta me for now. But don’t worry, I’ve got plenty more to say next time.
Grandpa (Professional Ranter and Amateur Philosopher)
