Welcome to a new year and
welcome to a new you. You have got to
love the start of a new year, brimming with hope and excitement and ripe with potential. Amazing
change is right at your doorstep and it all begins with your New Year’s
resolutions, your blueprint to an exciting, new life. I cannot overemphasize the importance of
writing down your resolutions. It is the
necessary act of articulating what you want and what is important to you. Perhaps you believe that your resolutions are
pretty much standard and do not require a lot of thought- lose ten pounds, make
more money, find the perfect relationship, etc… Well, if you wrote out your
resolutions in such a general way e.g. ‘lose x pounds’ then yes, it is probably
on everybody’s list. But what makes
written resolutions unique to the individual and an incredibly effective tool
in creating life changes are the details. How do you want to lose that extra
weight? At the gym, running outdoors or
learning to play tennis? How do you want
to better your financial situation?
Finding a higher paying job, getting a second job or starting your own
business? And how are you going to find
‘the one?’ Going out to more social
events, getting set-up by one of your friends or online? These choices and all the fine yummy details
are staggering and only you can answer them.
The more specific the resolution, the greater the chance the resolution will materialize and thus, a happier new
you.
I would venture to guess that
your response would be along the lines of ‘Well, if resolutions were so
important, then why don’t more people change for the better year after
year?’ Good question. My answer would be that as people grow older,
they become more comfortable with their daily routine, i.e. where they go, what
they do and who they see, making change difficult. Interestingly, the people around them are
also comfortable with seeing them the same way and may inadvertently keep them
stuck in a rut. Even though on the
inside they are earnestly searching for something new, different and better,
there is a fear of change that keeps them from exploring the world and living
up to their full potential. I truly
understand the routine mentality. I like
knowing what the schedule is days beforehand.
Anything less would make me anxious.
I do not do well with uncertainty, surprises and spontaneity. But these are the conditions where change
thrives. My ninety-year old violin
teacher, the sweetest most wholesome woman with fiery Lucille Ball hair once
told me that ‘A life without change is a life full of regrets.’ Through the years, I have taken that wisdom
to heart and have been less resistant to change. I have come to think of change not as an
intruder but more as a welcome visitor.
How does one invite change
into their lives, without leaving it all behind to go backpacking in Tibet or
riding a motorcycle all over South America?
Perhaps the key is allowing a little of the extraordinary to enter your
everyday ordinary. I came across an
interesting music video the other day where a handsome couple was doing normal
everyday errands together such as going to the drugstore, the cleaners and even
pumping gas. Seems pretty mundane,
however he was dressed as a pimp with a gold silk suit wielding a leopard cane
and she had thigh high silver boots and electric blue hair. With their smiles and laughter, they looked
like they were having the time of their lives at a space-aged party instead of
running around doing chores. The
well-chosen title of this video was ‘When We Walk In The Place,’ by Millennium. I am not suggesting that you run to the
nearest thrift shop or dye your hair some funky color, although if those
actions call to you for some reason, then maybe you should try it. The point is
that change first begins with the mind. We
can learn something from these ‘Sultans of Swag’ about opening our minds to the
multitude of possibilities and realizing that we have some control over our
life and happiness. Whether your life is
mundane or magical, it is all up to you.
I admit I felt a little bit liberated after watching this video.
It is not too late to write down
your New Year’s resolutions. Take your
time with it and enjoy flushing in the details.
Call me old-fashioned but I think keeping that list visible every single
day will actually ensure that those resolutions will manifest and not get swept
under the rug again this year. It is
your personal letter to the universe saying ‘this year is the year that I will
make things happen’ and the universe responds with a helping hand or a nudge in
the right direction along the way. I
wish you all an eventful and extraordinary year!
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