Sooner than we know, New Year’s Eve has come round again. Will you be making the same old resolutions to make yourself feel better? Or could this be the year to rethink the ritual by looking outwards?

To be specific, rather than agonising about reinventing yourself, should you instead discover the rewards of selfless service … service to one person, one family or even an entire community? In the depths of World War 2, C.S. Lewis went to the heart of the matter when he wrote: “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses.”

But what, exactly, does it take to be able to serve selflessly? The answer lies not in tedious aspirations to some kind of perfection, but in building on your strengths, making the best of what you already have.

“Start from where you stand.” I first heard those words 35 years ago at World Youth Day in Kraków, the home ground of Pope John Paul II. I had the chance to talk to him about Christian values, such as humility, and their role in service.

Though already working on Wall Street, I still felt a calling to the priesthood, and ventured to ask the Holy Father for his thoughts. He looked me straight in the face and said: “You will have greater impact outside the Church. Be guided by your faith and do God’s will ... Start from where you stand. You are an original, and you must encourage others to be originals. That changes things.”

We all have it in us to be an original. After all, no one else in the world has exactly the same beliefs, passions and talents as you do. You can seek advice from people you trust, but in the end it’s for you to determine just how you use your time, not in serving yourself, but in serving other people.

Starting from where you stand, you can be an original in your own, quiet, honest way. The scope of your ambitions does not have to be radical. Just look around you. In the words of Romans 15, verse 2: “Each of us should please our neighbours for their good, to build them up.”

Resolutions come and resolutions go. But your life, like other people’s lives, can be transformed if you take concrete action – even in a small way – for the common good.

Never mind that idealised list of personal goals. Start now and prepare for the multiplier effect. You will see how the waves of generosity will ripple outward, growing to reshape your life in 2026.