Musings for the New Year from a self-appointed know-it-all who thinks his opinions matter.

I refuse to bother with resolutions this year. I never follow them. All they do is cause me to feel totally worthless due to my wretched failure to follow them. This year I am simply going to reflect on some things I have learned and my efforts to use them in everyday life.

Follow your dreams. Do what you love to do. Wake up every day excited about your life. If this is not so, change your life. Don’t make important decisions in your career based on money. I have never heard of anyone on their deathbed wishing they made another $100.

Do the right thing. Notice I did not say the correct thing, but the right thing. There is a world of difference between being right and being correct. Being correct comes from your head while being right comes from your heart.

Sometimes, you have to make a decision between several hard choices. Which is best for you or which works better for everyone.

The answer is usually very simple. The hardest choice is almost always the best choice. The easy way out will usually result in making the situation worse, and ultimately cause you to have to make an even harder decision later on.

Listen. Even to those that you don’t like, even to those you don’t agree with, even to those that you don’t particularly respect. There is no greater way to learn than listening to others not just teachers and parents, although through simple living, they are wiser than you.

Your opinions, your beliefs, who you are as a person, is not based only on your own thoughts, but the agreeing and disagreeing of others to harden or soften your positions. Listening to those who differ with you is not weakness, but strength. Some of the greatest leaders in history changed their minds due to new information or the gaining of wisdom.

Be open and friendly with everyone, but jealously guard your privacy. Take the advice of others, but don’t be afraid to heed your own counsel. No one knows you like yourself, and no one else understands your needs and short-comings like you. As life unfolds, you will need to be a spouse, a parent, a worker and a dozen other things at the same time. Always remember that to be a good person, you have to take care of yourself. It is not selfish to keep yourself healthy and happy, in order to allow yourself to be a friend or anchor for others.

Look around at your friends, your family and your peers. Pick out the ones that you like best and admire the most, and try to be like them. Not in their success or popularity, but their likeability and trustworthiness. You can’t expect others to trust and like you if you aren’t approachable and open to their thoughts and ideas.

Lastly, be simple. Math is complicated, biology is complicated, people shouldn’t be. Don’t make it hard for others to be around you. Smile for no reason, speak when you have nothing to say, believe when you feel jaded, love when you feel hated, and show interest when you had rather ignore. Life is good; always strive to be a part of it.