I have always liked the idea of making New Year’s resolutions.

Making declarations of how to improve my life or resolving to add some positive elements makes me feel like I get a second chance.

Moreover, the notion of beginning fresh can serve as a motivator, one that could help catapult me to goals and or rekindle dreams.

Unfortunately, the New Year’s resolutions I have made through the years always seem to come up short, if I were honest, because I have not done a very good job of sticking to them.

About the second week into January, I find myself slipping back into my same old habits and life continues as before.

So why do I continue to make New Year’s resolutions?

I guess on some level I, at the very least, think it is prudent to think about changes I would like to incorporate in my life.

But, making real life changes, I have surmised, is hard.

With all this being said, I will, however, make resolutions for 2018, one of which will include trying to practice mindfulness.

Merriam-Webster defines mindfulness as “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.”

Basically, this means I need to become more aware of my experiences, and instead of reacting I want to learn how to only act and start paying attention to my thoughts and feelings without judging them — without believing, for instance, that there is a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment.

This is quite a lofty goal for me but one that I want to try to incorporate into my life plan, which also includes trying to take care of myself.

As a southern woman and mother of four children, it was only natural that I learned to take care of all those around me but not necessarily to take care of myself.

For some of us, this notion of taking care of self seems selfish and egocentric, but what I am learning as I grow older and, hopefully, wiser is that we must also take care of ourselves. Otherwise, we will burn out and could potentially become angry and resentful toward those we see around us who are working towards their goals and achieving their dreams.

Anne Lamott is one of my favorite writers and author of “Bird By Bird” and “Traveling Mercies.”  She said, “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

I look to 2018 as I do every New Year as a chance for new beginnings.

I know there is a chance I will not carry through with all of my resolutions, but I will at least try.

Hopefully, I will surpass my usual two-week mark!

Happy New Year.

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.