New Year, New Beginning

I am not a fan of New Year's resolutions. I am not saying that I have not made them in the past, but in my old age I have come to figure that if something needs fixing, why wait? Why leave it to a special day on the calendar? What makes January 1st such a special day anyway?

To me New Year's Resolutions hold too much weight - too much pressure. When the motivation and excitement wanes (which it ALWAYS does) then we start to fall back into old patterns and behaviors. Then the cycle begins again and we feel that we have failed in our quest for perfection.

My theory is to make changes as we see the need. If that happens to be on a wednesday afternoon then so be it! This has come to me as I am working on being more present. Not living in the past or waiting for the future....monday morning will come, each and every week, and hopefully I'll be around to see it but I am not living for the waiting if you know what I mean. Why eat crap on thursday because your diet will start on monday - which monday will it be? There happens to be one every seven days or so right?

Personally, I like to take the new year as a time to reflect and set new goals, make plans for the coming year. I am a planner by nature and although I do struggle to stay present in my life, in the here and now, I still do find it very useful to have a map to help guide me in the day to day decisions. But it is just that, a guideline not hard and fast the way it has to be.

Something I read recently that really stuck with me and I have started to incorporate into my thinking and decision making is this: in the overall scheme of your life, even if you live to be 102, what are your five top priorities? What do you want your life to be? Then take those 5 things and make sure that you are doing something every single day that reflects those. Or use them as a guideline to making choices - to ensure that what you choose is in alignment with what you really hold dear. This has been especially helpful to me in learning to say no to things that do not fit into that list.

Whatever your take on the whole tradition, it is never a bad idea to start working on you and making positive changes in your life. My wish for you is that in doing so, you be gentle and kind with yourself. Be true to yourself and to your core values and be always aware that when you empower yourself you are inspiring others in the process!

Health and Happiness,
Lesley