Here we are at the beginning of another year. Everyone around us is full of excitement for their resolutions. You know the kind - the resolution that every year your friends decide is so important that THIS year they will be able to stick to it! The exercise routine, the new healthy diet, catching up on the list of home repairs that keep getting put off... After a month or so, the enthusiasm wanes. A few weeks after that, the resolution is forgotten. Maybe it's time to change the way we greet the new year.
Anything else in life that we start anew, we tend to ease into. It simply makes it easier to integrate into our lives by taking this route. For whatever reason, it's different this time of year. It's almost become a competition to see who can come up with the grandest plan & stick to it the longest. But the louder the resolution, the less likely it seems to work out. Perhaps that means it's time to try the gentle, quiet resolution instead.
Don't worry about what everyone else wants. Do you really want to go on that crazy diet to lose X amount of weight because you want to, or because your mother/sister/best friend/favorite magazine says you need to? Do you want to work out to feel healthier and have more energy, or to look good to women? Maybe a good resolution would be to spend this year learning what you really and truly want in life to make you happy. This may sound like a simplistic thing, something that would be as quick as writing out a short list and then being done with it. But is it really that easy? Are you sure you know your true, deepest desires of your heart and soul that quickly?
Let's examine the common resolution of a new diet. First of all, why do you really want to do it? To lose weight. Ok. Why? To be thinner. Why? So you can fit into smaller size clothes. Why? Keep going. Keep asking why over & over. More often than not, the true motivation behind a desired change is not what you expected. This is not to say that the desire for a diet is wrong. The journey to the heart of the matter can help you learn not only how others influence you, but also what you truly want. Say that a person wants to lose weight and they discover it's because their family made jokes about them being fat growing up and it stuck with them. That's the sort of thing that may have become so ingrained into the subconscious that its not even noticed anymore. The journey of understanding can not only uncover hidden truths, but lead to another path of learning what you truly want and need to be happy. The person who had been made fun of may discover she's ok with her weight and instead simply wants to eat a bit healthier and not worry about a number on a scale or clothing tag.
This exploration is a life-changing event. Be prepared. Your group of friends may change. Your lifestyle, career, relationship, everything. But don't be fearful of this change. Each new step you take will bring more joy into your life as you are being more authentic and true to yourself. The more joy you have in your life, the easier it will be to make the changes and to face people who don't like the new you. Each time you step on a new branch of this journey, you will feel lighter, brighter, and happier. Simply keep asking "Why?" then follow along where it leads.
The journey to discovery is not a quick one, nor is it easy. There will be heartache as well as tears of joy along the way. Long-held beliefs will be shattered. New ones will seemingly fall from the sky. To truly walk this path & partake of the wonders along the way, you must be willing to become a completely different person. This is nothing to fear for the person you become will be the true you. Now, open the door, step through, and take that first step. Good luck to you!
No comments:
Post a Comment