This time of the year our attention turns from 2022 to 2023. Now I know how some of you feel about the term, “New Year’s resolutions,” so I thought instead of rattling off the same ole resolutions like losing weight or working out more I thought I’d suggest some Common Sense things to think about during the lead up to 2023 and maybe even the week or two after that! •Don’t make Resolutions.  Make promises or contracts :with yourself instead. If you want to make it real, write out a contract with yourself on paper and sign it. Now, leave that contract out where you’ll see it everyday! This makes your promise a bit more real and easier for you to believe it in the coming weeks. (Understand from the very top that you will fail at a few of your goals. And that is OK! We aren’t going to succeed at everything we do. So, when we fall short of what we wanted, remember that you’re closer to that goal than you were before you started. Don’t be afraid to adjust your goals and especially your expectations.) •Don’t be so concerned about getting rid of things you’re upset about or frustrated in your life(losing weight, being better at something, etc.) Instead, focus on what you can add in 2023 that  makes your life better. For instance, if you want to lose weight (don’t we all?) instead of promising to join a gym and get up at 4:30 am every day to exercise, which in 3 weeks, you’ll end up stopping, try focusing on addinghealthy things. Commit to eating more fruit or make a healthy fruit shake instead of that sugary soda. Find positive things you can add to your life and soon those negative things you were worried about will drop away. •Go Slow!!! Man, this is one important!!! Want to see some changes in your life? Baby Steps!Make a list and then edit it down. Let’s say you come up with 12 things you’d like to see happen in your life. Actually, schedule them each month. January – eat fruits, nuts and berries instead of candy. February – turn the electronic devices off during dinner. You get the idea. Don’t plan on sweeping changes. Trust me, baby steps become significant changes which turn out to be so much more important. •Begin writing a “To-Done List!”What is this? It’s a list where we sit down at some point during the week and write down our successes! What are the things we’ve done that went well, helped someone else, made us feel good, gave us some relaxation or peace? We are programmed to forget these moments. DON’T!!! Write them down and celebrate them. Then, at the end of each month, take a look at those 4 pieces of paper with your successes and congratulate yourself for the things you’ve accomplished that month! •Tell yourself the truth about what you want to change or accomplish this year. Are they things you really want to accomplish or are they things you “think” you should […]

The time at the end of the year is so very special. It allows, even encourages us to be busy yet take time to enjoy who and where we are. It allows us to focus on the past year while we’re also looking ahead. With that having been said, I’m planning to take some time away from social media over the holidays. It allows me to think. To think of friends past, present and future. To look within to see where I’ve been, where I’m at and where I’m going in 2023 and beyond. Most importantly, it seems to work as a check and balance to make sure I’m focusing on the right stuff. Before I do that though, I want to leave you with a couple of thoughts and wishes that you might consider while I’m away. Thanks for reading A Common Man’s Wisdom! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.✓ I’m not sure what the weather is like where you are, but in my area they’re calling for some extremely cold temperatures. There are so many men, women and children of all descriptions (including veterans) on the streets. Without help, many of them will die. So if you can do anything to help the organizations that are helping them, thank you in advance. In the same vein, please check in on any special needs, elderly or disabled folks you might know. Make sure their heat and stove is working. Make sure they’re OK. Make sure they know they’re loved. Lastly, in a barrage of advertising slogans, seemingly endless obligations, lots and lots of stress, please take at least 30 seconds everyday to just breathe and focus on Peace, Happiness, Love and Hope. How do they fit in in your life and how can you make each of them even more important to your life in 2023? I’m gonna throw another concept into the mix. Gratitude! The more you practice it, the more you’ll realize how vital it can be in your life and the more you recognize it, the more you’ll practice it. Enjoy the moments the next few days at the end of the year will present, even the ones filled with stress or frustration. If you find yourself doing that, it’s a slam dunk that 2023 will be an incredibly special time for you. Thank you for our time together. I’m honored that you’ve given your valuable time this year to allow us these get togethers. Peace      …..Gregg P.S. For no particular reason I wanted to share this painting from my favorite painter, Ricardo Chávez-méndez. His art makes me focus on beauty and wonder. Maybe it will do the same for you. If not, I wish you the fantastic journey of finding and focusing on something that will make you smile, without trying… © 2022 Gregg Masters

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… or not. For so many, this is a great time of year. It can really bring out the best in people. It can also be a very isolating and sad time  for others. I don’t want to “burry the lead” so here it is. Please do what you can for yourself and others! Behind the walls of that house or apartment might be a vastly different world than you imagine it to be. Maybe a loved one is sick or isn’t there anymore. Maybe there is no money. (I don’t mean “buy a gift or two kind of no money” I mean — no money.) Maybe there is no food in the house or refrigerator. Maybe a family pet, who might have been their only companion isn’t there anymore. Maybe that cheerful face you see outside of their home is wondering whether to skip food in order to buy medicine inside those walls. Maybe the memories of times past are just too much of a burden for them. Maybe they’re concerned they might be living on the street shortly. If you think you don’t know anyone like this, while I hope you’re right, I know you’re wrong. Some of these people wouldn’t ask for help. Couldn’t even conceive of asking for help. After all, so often asking for help is a much harder thing to do than accepting it. You know these people because depression, anxiety and concern don’t confine themselves to just one type of person or area or finances or color or age. (As much as I hate to include this, I must. Just because you or I might not think someone is depressed, hurting or contemplating hurting or killing themselves, doesn’t mean they aren’t. Sure some are more prone, but that doesn’t mean others  aren’t inclined to find themselves those situations as well. A good “rule of thumb” is that depression, anxiety and/or suicide is possible for anyone and everyone. The National suicide prevention hotline is now available by simply calling 988! Whether for yourself or for someone else, please use that number as often as you need to.    Here is the link that will get you to their website… https://988lifeline.org/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=onebox ) So what can we do? I don’t know exactly, that’s up to each of us. Only we know how we can individually help or even if we feel like we want to help. Some of you might be saying “It’s their fault” or “I’ve got problems of my own” or “it’s time they learned a lesson.” Believe it or not, you might be shocked to hear that I actually agree with that last one. I think it istime that they learned a lesson, just not the lesson that nobody cares! I think a much better lesson, especially in this time of the year we call the “Season of Love” is that people do care! I think a great lesson is the gratitude felt, especially when it’s the people we never […]