Resolution
Countervailing Action
New Year’s resolutions often focus on adding something new to improve our lives. This year, I’ve realized the need to subtract—to let go of vices and distractions that rob me of my focus and purpose. Removal creates more room for more fulfilling life.
The professor’s jar metaphor comes to mind. Fill the jar with life’s big rocks—family, health, and purpose—before the smaller parts of life and the sand grains. If sand goes first, there’s no room for the essentials. Removing the unnecessary allows the meaningful to flourish.
Digital technology, while powerful, often scatters our attention. Notifications, endless content, and distractions pull us in countless directions. Headed too nowhere. We must reclaim our potential! Consciously extract fragmentary ideology and resolve to take actions intentionally.
Focus isn’t improved adding more, it removes. Let us unburden ourselves of our vices that hold us back, align one’s actions with the person we aim to become. Persistence will make it worthwhile.
Imagine how far we’ve come, and how much further we can go with focus and resolve. This is the year to let loose, simplify, and grow into the potential we’re meant to become, by removing that deadwood.
This was my favorite rendition: now an honorable mention.
🪞 The Resolution of Being
Resolution, at its core, is the act of crystallizing ✨ intention into reality 🌍. It’s not merely about adding ➕ more to life 🧬 but about uncovering 🔎 what’s essential by removing 🗑️ the unnecessary. This year 📅, I’ve been reflecting 🤔 on how subtraction ➖, rather than accumulation 📦, can lead to clarity 🌟 and purpose 🎯.
🪨 The Jar Metaphor
I’m reminded of the classic story 📖 of a professor 👨🎓 and the jar. He begins with a jar 🫣 and fills it with large rocks 🪨. “Is the jar full?” he asks ❓. The class 👩🎓👨🎓 agrees ✅, but then he adds smaller pebbles 🪕, followed by sand 🏖️, and finally water 💧, showing how there’s always room 🏰 for more if done in the right order 📚.
The big rocks represent the most important things in life 👫—family 🏠, health ❤️, aspirations 🌠—while the sand 🏡 and water 🌊 are the distractions 📲 and smaller priorities 🗂️ that often crowd our lives first.
This metaphor 🗾 has prompted me to think 🤔 deeply about the spaces 🖫 in my own life. What have I allowed to crowd 🌀 out my big rocks 🧿? What small things 🔑 have I filled my jar with, leaving little room 🛠️ for what matters most 💖?
✂️ The Art of Subtraction
I’ve come to see subtraction ➖ as a form of alchemy 🧙🏼♂️. By letting go ✋ of distractions 🎮 and unnecessary habits 🔄, I create space 🌌 for the meaningful to emerge 🌱. It’s simple ✅ in concept but challenging ⛏️ in practice. Releasing 🔓 habits that no longer serve 🤷 me confronts me with the void 🖫—an uncomfortable but fertile 🏞️ space for growth 📈.
🔔 The Ecology of Attention
In a world 🌐 dominated by constant notifications 📩 and endless streams 🌊 of content 🎥, my attention often feels fragmented 🪓. Each moment of distraction 📱 erodes potential energy ⚡. Yet, by consciously ☀️ removing these distractions ❌, I can reclaim 🏹 my focus 🔍 and reintegrate my energy 💪 toward what truly matters 🌟.
🚪 Walking Through Potential
As I reflect 🪞 on this journey 🚶♂️, I see life as a hallway filled with unopened 🚪 doors—each representing a version of myself 👤 yet to be explored 🌍. What paths 🌄 have I ignored 😵💫 through habit 🔂 or fear 😨? By clearing 🪟 the sediment 🧬 of routine ⌚, I find even small acts 🎮 of intentionality 🧪 can unlock 🔐 transformative possibilities 🌟.
🤔 An Invitation to Reflection
What would happen 🤔 if you made room 🎃 for what truly matters 💕? This year 📆, let’s not resolve to add more ➕ but to reveal more 🌌. Through the art 🎨 of conscious removal, we can uncover 🔍 the clarity 🌠 and purpose 🎯 that lie just beneath the surface 🌊 of our busy lives 🚶♂️.
Form is emptiness 🌫, and emptiness is form 🌀. What might emerge 🦩 in the spaces you create 🏙️?