I love the way a brand new calendar feels in my hands. I happen to love setting goals, making lists and delight in dreaming of plans and future days. All this being said, there’s a whole lot that I don’t like about the classical “New Year’s Resolution.” For many people, the process of creating a New Year’s Resolution begins with determining what is wrong with them and then deciding that they are going to fix it. My conflict with this is that any decision rooted in negative energy is bound to fail.
This year, I encourage you to approach 2009 with resolve from a different perspective. This perspective asks you to list what you would like to cultivate, grow, create and have in abundance and spend some time feeling the positive energy of this thing that you want EVERY day in 2009. For example, here is a traditional resolution and a re-framed resolution:
Traditional: I really need to lose 20 pounds and this is the year I’m going to do it. I’m so tired of my pants feeling tight and my clothes not fitting right anymore. I’ve gotten so fat that I can’t stand to look at myself anymore.
Re-Framed: I love the way I feel when I am eating well, excercising and getting enough sleep. When my clothes fit well I know that I look great and I feel confident and beautiful. This year, I’m going to cultivate this feeling of confidence and beauty and let it guide my decision making.
If your Traditional New Year’s Resolution is that you want to do more yoga or try yoga or be a more serious yoga student then I encourage you to re-frame this resolution in a way that sets you up for the best success: I feel so relaxed and well when I take a yoga class. I want to feel this wonderful as much as possible. I will allow myself to feel this fabulous as often as possible. I will cultivate this feeling of health and energy and make decisions based on this desire.
How does this work? First, you start with a great feeling. Second, you allow yourself to access this feeling. Third, even when the realities of your life are in front of you, the presence of this wonderful feeling assist you in making decisions that bring you more of it. It doesn’t mean that you don’t have dessert after New Year’s dinner or that you never work late and skip a yoga class. It just means that you make feeling your best as your guide so that, when you have a choice, you choose BEST.
Trust me, by December 2009, if you’ve made being your best, most fabulous, most gentle, most peaceful, most beautiful self the priority of every day you will have improved the lives of EVERY person you relate to this year and you will have memories of a year well-lived. Or, you can make a traditional resolution and be kicking yourself next December about how you are really going to change, lose those 20 pounds, take more yoga classes, spend more time with your kids…in 2010.
Good luck with your resolutions and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
