I have never been one to create New Year’s resolutions, and
it just dawned on me why I never set them.
You know how we all start going to the gym in January but lose steam by
March? Not wanting to face the
disappointment-in-myself-in-March equivalent was what kept me from setting any
New Year’s resolutions. It was out of
self-preservation, really. If I didn’t
set any, I wouldn’t have to feel bad about myself for yet again not achieving
what I had hoped. Pragmatic and somewhat
defeatist? Sure. At all inspiring and any way to live? Heavens, no.
After a year of much self-awareness development, reflection,
and hard work in 2012, I have a different outlook on the whole “resolution”
thing and aim to adapt it to be more forgiving and meaningful – for me, anyway.
So, what does 2013 look like for me? I’ve decided that the best practices I can
adopt are those that encourage the development of being – of being MYSELF. (When you’ve spent your life trying to be the
person you think others want you to be, this is quite a leap.) There are five practices that I have either
already started to adopt and will continue or will adopt for the New Year:
1. Write a
letter to myself. Tomorrow, January
1st, I will write a letter to myself to be opened on Dec. 31st,
2013. It will be about what I want the
year to look like and the kind of person I will hope to be. Benjamin Zander, the author of The Art of Possibility uses the concept
of ‘Giving An A. ‘ It’s the idea that the students all receive an A at the
start of the course under the condition that they write a letter dated for the
end of the course outlining why they got that A. My letter will have the same principle.
2. Meditation/Mindfulness. This is an easy one to TOTALLY let slip. I know, as it has slipped for me. I will commit to some sort of mindful
practice each day. I’ll give myself
permission for it to be a minute in the shower, maybe 10 deep breaths before I
go to sleep, or an actual time set aside to quiet my mind. Whenever I have done this, it has had an
extraordinary affect on me. I highly
recommend it for everyone else.
3. Seek
inspiration. I want this year to be
one of purposeful inspiration. It is
mostly about being aware of the world around us because we can find inspiration
anywhere, AND it can also come from other people, books, experiences, etc. Recently, I re-connected with my first-year
college roommate, who I haven’t seen since college, and it was one of the most
inspiring, wonderful conversations. I
cherished those two hours with her. I
have registered for the World Domination Summit in July, which from what I was
told about last year’s summit, it should be a phenomenally inspiring event. Then, there is just the simple act of going
for a walk on the trails or going to the beach.
It’s amazing the inspiration we can find in nature. No wonder that so many designers of all sorts
often look to natur
4. Move. “A body in motion stays in motion.” Newton knew what he was talking about. Yes, I am prone to a few hours of mind-numbing
television. That’s not helping my brain
cells, nor my body, as I get older.
After injuring my hip, which sidelined my running and almost all other forms
of exercise, I had too good of an excuse for not doing anything. Fortunately, I have just gotten a dog, and he
will at least get me outside a little bit each day. We’ll see how this goes when it’s
raining. Like with all other practices,
I won’t set hard boundaries or definitions on what this has to look like. I just know that it’s critical to my
physical, mental and emotional health and well-being to keep on movin’!
5. Read. I am doing a lot of reading for school, and I
love learning. One of the things I loved
about living in London was the fact that I got through a book a week just from
the 20-minute Tube ride to and from work each day. When I’m done with school (in six months, but
who’s counting?), reading for pleasure and interest will be re-adopted. (And no, I will not set a target of one book
per week. That’s plain silly if War and Peace is on the list!)
Those are my Top 5 Practices for 2013. I’ll periodically keep you posted on how it’s
all going. I’ll be honest if something
isn’t working too well and will ask for your advice. In fact, let’s start now. What do you think of those 5? What are you adopting as a way to transform
your life – even just something small?
One of my all-time favorite quotes from Goethe is:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it!
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Here’s to a little magic for all of us in 2013!
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