New Year Resolutions
I am not one to set new year resolutions as a rule. Resolutions tend to happen more spontaneously for me. But for those of you into the New Year Resolution tradition I offer a few suggestions:
1) Don't set a resolution you think you should do but don't really want to do. For example, if exercise really just isn't your thing but let's say, you want to lose a few pounds or want to enjoy a healthier lifestyle then start there. "I will exercise 5 days a week at the gym for 2 hours" seems unlikely if you really hate gyms. "I will lose X pounds by making healthy choices for myself every day", now that sounds more doable. Of course, we all know healthy choices will probably involve some sort of exercise - just pick something you like to do. See how many times you can walk the entire length of a mall in 20 minutes, that actually counts!
2) Think outside of your box. Oh sure, everyone always talks about thinking outside of our own set paradigms, but how often do we really do it? New year's resolutions are about bringing NEW things into your life not necessarily just rehashing the old. I find the internet is an excellent tool for this - I'll Google or Wikipedia someone I admire and then read about their interests and see where it takes me, or I'll search a series of words and then follow the links. My boyfriend and I are going to Tulum, Mexico this March and staying at an eco-resort. I'd never heard of eco-resorts before, all I started with was knowing we'd be in Mexico City visiting my family and that we wanted to do a 3-day trip somewhere else in the country while we were there. A few choice Google searches later and some quick referencing on TripAdvisor.com and we found what sounds like a really cool experience. We'll see how it goes, but it certainly is something new! Something new can be anything...have any of you heard of letterboxing or kettlebells?
3) Dare to "fail". I know that sounds weird, but here's the deal: If we limit ourselves by doing only what we think we can, we never really push ourselves to find out what we really can do. Fear of failure holds everyone back. It's a big one for me. But being brave isn't about doing things you aren't afraid of, it's about meeting challenges when you're scared. So meet them proactively and try different things, knowing that you might not end up being any good at them or liking them or maybe even being able to do them at all. And what you'll probably end up learning is that you can't ever really fail - you'll always get something out of the experience, even if it's as simple as knowing what you don't like. So try and make a souffle, or find a chess club, or take an African dance class or... Test yourselves this year.
4) Set your intention in a positive light. No more "I will not" and more "I will", please. I remember hearing an interview where the person being interviewed said, "I am no longer against things, I am now just for things". And I immediately thought, "That's crazy! How can you possibly not be against abuse or cancer or famine?" To which an answer was quickly given. "For example," the interviewee said, "I am not against cancer, I am for finding a cure." And then I got it. Sending out all this negative energy towards something can almost empower it. Do you think the devil wants to be loved? Instead, focus on the positive side of the statement and see how that changes you.
So, happy 2008 everyone! May your resolutions empower and serve you and you them.
1) Don't set a resolution you think you should do but don't really want to do. For example, if exercise really just isn't your thing but let's say, you want to lose a few pounds or want to enjoy a healthier lifestyle then start there. "I will exercise 5 days a week at the gym for 2 hours" seems unlikely if you really hate gyms. "I will lose X pounds by making healthy choices for myself every day", now that sounds more doable. Of course, we all know healthy choices will probably involve some sort of exercise - just pick something you like to do. See how many times you can walk the entire length of a mall in 20 minutes, that actually counts!
2) Think outside of your box. Oh sure, everyone always talks about thinking outside of our own set paradigms, but how often do we really do it? New year's resolutions are about bringing NEW things into your life not necessarily just rehashing the old. I find the internet is an excellent tool for this - I'll Google or Wikipedia someone I admire and then read about their interests and see where it takes me, or I'll search a series of words and then follow the links. My boyfriend and I are going to Tulum, Mexico this March and staying at an eco-resort. I'd never heard of eco-resorts before, all I started with was knowing we'd be in Mexico City visiting my family and that we wanted to do a 3-day trip somewhere else in the country while we were there. A few choice Google searches later and some quick referencing on TripAdvisor.com and we found what sounds like a really cool experience. We'll see how it goes, but it certainly is something new! Something new can be anything...have any of you heard of letterboxing or kettlebells?
3) Dare to "fail". I know that sounds weird, but here's the deal: If we limit ourselves by doing only what we think we can, we never really push ourselves to find out what we really can do. Fear of failure holds everyone back. It's a big one for me. But being brave isn't about doing things you aren't afraid of, it's about meeting challenges when you're scared. So meet them proactively and try different things, knowing that you might not end up being any good at them or liking them or maybe even being able to do them at all. And what you'll probably end up learning is that you can't ever really fail - you'll always get something out of the experience, even if it's as simple as knowing what you don't like. So try and make a souffle, or find a chess club, or take an African dance class or... Test yourselves this year.
4) Set your intention in a positive light. No more "I will not" and more "I will", please. I remember hearing an interview where the person being interviewed said, "I am no longer against things, I am now just for things". And I immediately thought, "That's crazy! How can you possibly not be against abuse or cancer or famine?" To which an answer was quickly given. "For example," the interviewee said, "I am not against cancer, I am for finding a cure." And then I got it. Sending out all this negative energy towards something can almost empower it. Do you think the devil wants to be loved? Instead, focus on the positive side of the statement and see how that changes you.
So, happy 2008 everyone! May your resolutions empower and serve you and you them.
posted by Christa Ojeda @ 11:39 AM
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