Forget the New Year’s Resolution and Do This Instead:

With the New Year, we all try to create better habits because we all want to be our best selves. This usually involves compiling a list of things that we wish we would do but don’t, whether it be short lived or not.  Then, we ultimately feel bad because we have created unrealistic expectations. What if we forget about the New Year’s resolutions and instead live by doing that thing that feeds/nourishes you. These are the signs: it brings you joy,  makes time nonexistent, is calming or grounding, and opens your heart.  It’s the thing that your friends or family can tell you is emphatically a part of who you are –it’s the one thing you do that helps to keep your life feel balanced.

For instance, I know the one thing that empowers my best friend is swimming.  It always has. When she swims, she goes into a place of balance; for my brother, it’s playing the guitar and singing; for another, it’s cooking. For me, it’s doing creative tasks, especially writing. I took my first oil painting class in college and I would get lost in time. Two hours went by and it felt like 20 minutes- nothing else existed. The same happens when I write.  There is always at least one thing in your life that does this for you- it appears to stop time and keeps you present. When we are present, we become centered, opening our hearts. From this place, it creates space in our lives to make change.  

What is the thing that does this for you?

Don’t worry about implementing or keeping new habits for the New Year that will likely fall to the wayside.  Instead, focus on refilling your inner well with the things that feed you. Make it a priority to do so on a regular basis, despite the demands of your life.  For instance, I must write on a regular basis to refill my well.  If I don’t write, I feel like something is missing, I’m internally off balance- my day doesn’t have the same kick to it.  An expression of myself is lost because it is my form of meditation.  If I can meditate on top of my writing, it’s a bonus, but my number one thing is my writing. No matter how many times I read how wonderful it is to sit down and meditate, writing is my number one priority.  What’s yours?

Do what is right for you.

What gives you peace and empowers you to feel your best self?  This is your own personal meditation.  Do it on a regular basis, don’t neglect it.  Push the other “important” things you have to get done to the side in order to do what you love and see the ripple effect. Watch how everything else falls into balance and creates more space in your life.  Rejuvenated, time appears to stretch and we are more balanced, creating joy. You are worth it, no matter how busy you are and how demanding your life is. 

Make it your New Year’s resolution to keep filling your well.  It ultimately empowers those around you to do the same, and you will serve as an example of the importance of loving yourself first in order to live joyfully.

Now, go be your own Superman or Superwoman.  Happy New You.  Fill your well.

Mo