Hey again!
Friday, January 8th is now history. (In case you didn’t notice, I am writing these from the future so I am in retrospect).
Do you remember what I suggested that you could do this first week in 2010?
If your memory has faded, please go back and read my post on January 4th.
Here the real truth about trying to start this kind of thing: Most of us fail at this. It is my experience that if you do not start this journaling, grateful journal or what ever term you want to use from childhood it is very hard. Perhaps if we put our journal and pen inside our pillowcase and when we fall into bed exhausted we could get a painful reminder that: “….hey….you said you were gonna…..!”
You probably didn’t notice, however you now have only 51 weeks left in 2010 to “DO IT”.
What is that for you?
Did you ever notice that somewhere around December 30th or 31st, you just pack it all in and mentally throw in the towel, because you know….Time Is Up?
Or perhaps you recite that famous line from the Christmas Poem…”…settled down for a long winter’s nap…”?
The next time you open your eyes it is a fresh, clean, sparkling, new, year and anything is possible. It is possible until you put your feet on the floor next to your bed that is.
If you are a person who really buys in to the whole “resolutions” idea then get out or take down your list. Look at it and see how you did in week 52.
If you think about it these resolutions are much like a 52 week marketing calendar in a business. You start out with a big picture plan. You know, your idea of what it is that you want. I know you did do that part this past 9 days.
Next you take the number ONE item on your list and you break it down into 52 easy bite sized steps that are doable and spread them out over 52 weeks. Now if you are pushing back about this one thing, guess what….you are in a negative living mental space.
If you say…”that’s way too long, I don’t need 52 weeks to do that!” I challenge you to drag the steps out anyway and do not skip a week.
Now when it is December 30th or 31st of 2010…..pull down your list and just see if you actually did accomplish the number 1 items on your list.
You see 99% of all of us that make resolutions never get to week 49 (for those of you who don’t know when that is….it is January 31st).
If you feel extra ambitious you can do this say thing with all of the items on your list. A word of warning here….you will quickly become overwhelmed and toss the whole thing out!
Long ago, I must admit I gave up the notion of having New Years Resolutions as a kid. Somehow it seems false and so fake to pretend that I was going to; read more, study harder, get on the cheer leading squad, make the basketball team or have that perfect dress for the prom. They all seems false and truly out of reach.
So, what I have come to terms with is just moving 1 to 10 degrees closer to the kind of person I want to be.
You may ask, what does that mean?
It simply means this:
* I try to listen more than I talk.
* I actively try to put myself in the other person’s shoes/walk and see things from their perspective
* I develop my own intellect by reading the things that I love to read on the topics that intrigue me
* I am grateful for all of the opportunities and things that I do have
* I talk to God every day
* I help others as much as they will allow me to help
* I speak the love language of those that I love and care about and those who are my clients
* I am at peace about who I am in this world and the part that I play in it.
These 8 things are not earth shattering by any stretch of the imagination nor are they the same for any other person on earth. They are however, doable every single day and all 52 weeks of my year. Each of us is in a different season in our lives, and what we see through those seasons of experience has so much wisdom which is been painfully and joyfully learned that we can pass that wisdom along through our actions and our words when we interact with others.
This whole idea that if we make a “Resolution” and we stick to it somehow our lives will dramatically change is an illusion. The only way any of us can “change” is by developing an acute heighten “AWARENESS” of how we are “being” at any given moment in our lives. The next thing we can actively do is to be another way in a particular situation or with another person. The act of doing that in your own “GROWTH” and that growth moves you forward and thus you have just created change. Over time, by repeating this process you develop new habits and ways of being and thus propel yourself forward creating your own “FREEDOM” through internal behavior change.
Don’t look now but you just satisfied your New Year’s Resolution!
If this sounds interesting to you, you have the opportunity to begin a new study in knowing who you are at your deepest level. Fill out the contact information box on this page and just take a test drive.
What about you?
