New Beginnings

“I hope for the willingness to live this year in a way that will be gentle to myself… one day at a time.”  Anne Wilson Schaef

I love that the New Year gives us permission to start anew.  It clears the slate and we get to put new effort into eating better, exercising more or not swearing.  We get to start over.  Hit the refresh button, if you will.

But, the truth of the matter is, every day we can start over.  We don’t have to wait until January 1st to start a good habit or quit a bad habit.  Every day, every minute we have a choice.  When we screw up, instead of letting the voice of the critic chastise us, we could say, “My soul chose to have a human experience and I learn from my mistakes.”  We have to put on our big girl/boy pants and try again.  Over and over.  As long as it takes.

It takes three weeks of active work to break a habit.  I like to add a good habit to replace the bad habit.  For example, as I try to eat less sugar, on one or two of those sugar urges, I will eat a piece of fruit, some nuts or protein.  Not as exciting, but my body thanks me for it and it is guilt free.

I think the trick of breaking any habit is to be a positive cheerleader for ourselves.  ‘Is that a nice thing to say to myself?’, I think in my head.  ‘Would I say that to my friend, if they had the same problem?’  No, I would give them unconditional love and a boost of support.

So, let’s make one or two New Year’s resolutions and when we falter, let’s tell ourselves, ‘That’s ok, were still working on this.  Keep trying.  No worries.’  Let’s choose to look at our growth and set backs more compassionately so we will want to keep trying.  Let’s support our growth by choosing to love ourselves, before we loose the weight and before we stop swearing.

Every day is a new day to be a better person.  Every day we have the opportunity to treat ourselves, others and this Earth with love and respect.  If we make all our choices from this perspective, life can only get more and more wonderful.

Happy New Year!

“To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person you are.” ~ Anonymous

“Believing in our hearts that who we are is enough is the key to a more satisfying and balanced life.” ~ Ellen Sue Stern