This story is part of our January 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here.

My New Year’s resolution is no resolutions.

This is a change for me because throughout my life, I’ve always made New Year’s resolutions. I looked ahead to what I really wanted to accomplish, personal and career-wise, in the coming 12 months. It seemed like the smart thing to do at the start of a new year. A flip of the calendar motivates you to start fresh and set goals.

Everyone has their own way of setting goals. Maybe you make a list. Some make a vision board filled with creative pictures of their plans and intentions. Others just keep their dreams in their head and are mindful of what they want to achieve or manifest into the universe.

But for the past 20 years, my resolutions have been mainly the same. Lose weight, get in better shape, travel more and spend more time with friends and family. This year, and I guess I actually started this a few years ago, I made this a way of life instead of a yearly goal.

Why should we wait until January 1st to plan our lives?

Besides, statistics show 50 percent of people who sign up for a gym membership in January stop going within six months. Many drop off in February and March, and a whopping 80 percent cancel their memberships by the end of the year. Why make unrealistic expectations that will only make you feel like a failure when you are unable to reach your goals?

The catalyst came in 2021 as I was desperately trying to slim down for my daughter Alyssa’s wedding. I worked out twice a day. I sprint-walked on my trail. I ordered keto meals delivered, yet I wasn’t reaching my goals. I was exasperated. What she said to me next changed everything: “Mom, I just want you to be healthy.” She didn’t care about a slim, trim, super-toned  mom. She wanted a healthy one that would be around for a while.

That changed my mindset in several areas, not just weight loss. Live your life with good intentions every day, whether it be health, career, family or community.

Since then, instead of being obsessive about the scale, I boosted my nutritious food and protein. I started intermittent fasting. I cut out dairy and most alcohol except for weekend wine. I’ve always been a walker, so I made sure I kept moving. Changing the goal from “I’m going to lose 20 pounds and get in the best shape of my life!” to “I’m going to live a healthy lifestyle” made all the difference. I could easily fail at the first goal. The second one was more achievable when I was doing it for my longevity and my family.

The other reason I feel resolutions are no longer necessary is because many of us have already changed after experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic. Time with friends and family, once commonplace, became something you yearned for during lockdown. When you couldn’t see a loved one for a year or more because they lived in a different part of the country, you dreamed of spending time with them once again.

When travel bans were lifted, I vowed to have yearly mother-daughter weekends with my Los Angeles and New York daughters (we had a fabulous weekend in Charleston in October) and have weekend getaways with my lifelong best friends who live in New Jersey and Florida. I now also don’t make the “too busy” excuse for local friends. I visit a friend who suffers from Alzheimer’s in her assisted living facility and watch “The Golden Bachelor” with a neighbor and play pickleball with another.

Career goals take time and require hard work. They’re not always something you can achieve in a year. I had two main goals when I came to Comstock’s in 2021: do a special report on the fentanyl crisis and get artist David Garibaldi to create a cover for us. I achieved them both two years later. Comstock’s 12-page special report on the fentanyl epidemic was published in February 2023 and earned us a first-place award from the California News Publishers Association. Garibaldi’s colorful “Light the Beam!” painting of the Golden 1 Center graced our cover in April 2023. (I have a poster of the cover that brightens up my office.)

As a recovering workaholic, I’ve often wished I could be more involved in my community. The opportunity came two years ago when Brad Squires, president of the Orangevale-Fair Oaks Community Foundation, approached me to be a part of a new marketing and communications team he was assembling to tell the stories of our communities. Getting involved in my local food bank and farm has made me feel more connected and fulfilled while getting to know my neighbors better. People feel disconnected these days. Getting involved in your community brings you closer together.

Lastly, I’m trying to be kinder. Everyone is going through something. I’ve learned a smile can go a long way, and a kind word can make somebody’s day. Taking care of your health, spending time with family and friends, achieving success in your career and getting involved in your community isn’t just something you put on a to-do list in January.

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