New Year’s resolutions: turning vows to deeds

Luckily, for those who fail at seeing their resolutions through, there is always a way to achieve your desired goal. Through a carefully designed plan for action, there is a way to achieve your goals. 【小题1】.

The first thing to note is that New Year’s resolutions are not wishes! 【小题2】. Ambiguous things like “I want to find love” or “I want to get a promotion” are unrealistic goals as they are determined by external forces that are out of our control. You cannot achieve what you can’t control. Only work towards achieving what you are capable of. For instance, since we have no say as to who gets a promotion at work, this desire of being promoted can be broken down into achievable goals of increasing productivity and being more assertive(自信果敢的).

Just because we have set a goal that we need to achieve this coming year does not mean we should start it on the first day of the first month of the year. Starting anything is not easy, and it requires mental and physical preparation. 【小题4】. That can lead to easy failure or giving up.

Maybe there are some ways to know you are on course to achieve your goals. 【小题5】. One can only be certain they are making headway on their resolutions if they have a way of determining their progress. To know we are headed towards the goal, we need to know how far we have come and how much further we have to go.

Generally speaking, waiting rooms are always filled with a lot of impatient people. However, a project carried out by The Observer suggests that people regard these spaces as a place of refuge (避难), a window in their tightly scheduled lives.

Ella Doroudy, Margate Station

We were at the beach for the day, and now are on our way home. We don’t have to wait very long, because we checked the timetable so we got here in time for the train. I just chat with my mates, really, and listen to music until the train comes. Waiting with other people is easier because you can kill time when you’re talking about stuff.

Caroline Lacey, Streatham Dental Center

I don’t really get nervous about seeing the dentist, but since these two fillings (补牙的材料) came out I’ve been in sharp pain. It’s very bright and airy here, so it’s quite calming. Usually I kill time by reading magazines. I’ve been coming to the dentist as and when I need to, but now it’s got to be regular.

Katie Hawkins, Model Casting

I was a bit late today, which I’m quite pleased about because some of these girls have been waiting ages. I can’t help but look at everyone else a bit — I look at the other girls and think: “I wonder if they’ll like her better than they like me.” While I’m waiting, I’m thinking: “Oh come on. I do have a life!”

Paul Thomas, Royal London Hospital

I feel pretty indifferent (满不在乎的)  while I’m waiting here, to be honest. It’s something I’ve got very used to since my motorbike accident seven years ago. I’ve had about 32 operations so far. It’s no good rushing in thinking you’re going to escape in five minutes, so I just sit back and people-watch, really.

It was unusually quiet in the emergency room on December 25.

I was nurse on duty that day. I didn’t think there would be any patients, sighing about having to work on Christmas. Just then five bodies showed up at my desk, a pale woman and four small children.

“Are you all sick?” I asked suspiciously.

“Yes,” she said weakly and lowered her head.

But when it came to descriptions of their presenting problems, things got a little vague. Two of the children had headaches, but the headaches weren’t accompanied by the normal body language of holding the head or trying to keep it still. Two children had earaches, but only one could tell me which ear was affected. The mother complained of a cough but seemed to work to produce it.

Something was wrong, but I didn’t say anything but explained that it might be a little while before a doctor saw her. She responded, “Take your time; it’s warm here.”

On a hunch (出于直觉), I checked the chart after the admitting clerk had finished registering the family. No address---they were homeless. The waiting room was warm.

I looked out at the family huddled by the Christmas tree. The little one was pointing at the television and exclaiming something to her mother. The oldest one was looking at an ornament on the Christmas tree.

I went back to the nurses’ station and mentioned we had a homeless family in the waiting room. The nurses, grumbling about working Christmas, turned to compassion for a family just trying to get warm on Christmas. The team went into action, much as we do when there’s a medical emergency. But this one was a Christmas emergency.

We were all offered a free meal in the hospital cafeteria on Christmas Day, so we claimed that meal and prepared a banquet for our Christmas guests. We needed presents. We put together oranges and apples in a basket. We collected from different departments candies, crayons and other things available that could be presents. As seriously as we met the physical needs of the patients that came to us that day, our team worked to meet the needs, and exceed the expectations, of a family who just wanted to be warm on Christmas Day.

Later, as the family walked to the door to leave, the four year old came running back, gave me a hug and whispered, “Thanks for being our angels today.”