Every year, a few days before the ball is set to drop, me and my wife sit down and write down a few resolutions or goals we would like to accomplish for the upcoming year. Before writing the new resolutions, we also go over the previous years and discuss whether we accomplished or fulfilled each of them. It’s interesting to see what we have done or not done over the last year and to look forward to our future goals and opportunities.
This year, while thinking about my own personal resolutions, I decided that I would write a few possible resolutions for the city of Manchester. Obviously, the city always has goals and opportunities each year and some carry-over from year to year, but I thought it was a great way to brainstorm possible goals for the city in 2019 and beyond.
1. Work together
This may seem very simple and broad but also a very difficult resolution to accomplish. Working together as a city is critical to the overall success, growth, and wealth of the city. We need to succeed in every aspect, we need to grow economically, and we need to become wealthy in character. I could probably elaborate much more on this resolution but I think it’s our job as citizens of Manchester to find our own definition for each opportunity and to do our part in working together.
- Be more patient
In order to accomplish anything in life, you have to be patient! More things take time and there is a process that goes along with whatever you are trying to do. Go through the process, take the necessary steps, and learn something new along the way. Patience takes a lot of understanding and waiting but if the goals are critical and important to the city’s overall vision then get some patience.
- Push through the pain
There will always be bumps in the road, but you can’t let that deter you from obtaining your goals. Pain is a necessary evil we all feel at some points in life and, although we may not like it, we all learn from it. Pain allows us to understand that not everything is perfect and we need to adjust sometimes. You may be in pain now but if you push through it and keep going, you can accomplish anything.
- Read more
This is always a personal resolution of mine because you can never read too much and you can never learn too much. We as a city should also read more. Whether we are reading street signs, maps, the city charter, or even people. If you read more of what is around you, you will begin to understand what exactly is going on. It doesn’t hurt to read more books, either.
- Listen to each other
I think this resolution is pretty self explanatory but make sure that when you listen, you actually listen. There is huge difference between listening and pretending to listen. You should be able to recall several points and facts after someone is done speaking or telling you something. I think that if we all listened to each other carefully and I mean carefully, we might learn something.
I could probably write a dozen more resolutions for the city but I think the ones that I listed above are a good start. We may not be able to accomplish everything we want to or need to in one year but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least try to. Some resolutions are going to carry over from year to year and others we should always write down, regardless if it was accomplished or not. I encourage you to write down your own for this year and really think about what you want to get done this year, or get better at. Maybe even write a few down for the city as well, it can’t hurt. We should all try to accomplish, get better at, or just try the resolutions I listed, whether you are a normal citizen, an Alderman, a BOSC member, or even the Mayor. If we do, I really believe that we can move this city forward in 2019 and beyond. Happy New Year Manchester!
Thanks for reading and until next time, live and be happy!
Ben Dion hosts The Weekly Dion live Thursdays at 6 p.m. on 95.3 FM WMNH, Manchester’s only downtown radio station. Follow him on Twitter @BenDionNH and @TheWeeklyDion. Contact Ben at theweeklydion@gmail.com
