"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." - Edith Lovejoy Pierce
Happy New Year everyone! Welcome to 2012. A new year is an opportunity...to reflect, to complete, to create. A fresh start, a clean slate.
There are many rituals associated with New Years Day...hangovers, pork and sauerkraut, the Rose Bowl Parade and resolutions. Lots of people make resolutions around their career, relationships and health and fitness. Full of hope, full of possibility...only to give up when they fail to accomplish what they intend by the end of the month. To my point, look at how gym memberships sky rocket during the month of January and then attendance plummets in February.
What if this year you resolved to stop making resolutions? And instead actively took on designing your life. How many years have you had on that list to lose 20 pounds? And how many years do you berate yourself for not having accomplished that goal, leaving yourself defeated, resigned and doubtful that you will ever fit into those skinny jeans again. Then you compare yourself to the ads you see on TV or on billboards.
I invite you to create a new ritual for New Years Day. Take some time and reflect on the past year, powerfully declare it complete and then design and invent the new year from a fresh slate.
Completing the last year
Spend some time reflecting and inquiring and then answering these questions - What was the last year in your life about? What was the common theme? What did you learn? What did you accomplish? What are you proud of? What did you regret? What do you want to let go of? What can you forgive yourself or others for? What are you grateful for?
You may be suprised at what you discover. When I did this work, What became apparent to me was that the theme for 2011 was transition and growth and the lessons learned were surrender and acceptance.
For me, like many whom I've spoken with, 2011 was a year of challenge and loss, however, the lessons I learned were invaluable. We are all here to learn. Life really is our classroom and how we choose to learn is up to us. And if we resist, the lesson keeps being presented in many forms and the consequences become greater, until we learn that lesson.
What I learned about surrender is that it is a powerful act. It is choosing to let go, to allow, to receive, to trust, to turn something over, to be willing to admit that you can't go it alone...and then discovering that you don't have to.
And acceptance...what grace. Accepting what is, and what isn't and then being grateful for all of it. The universe is abundant and always out for our greatest good, so when things don't work out the way we think...something better for us is just on the horizon. We may not understand it when it happens...or we may never understand why, just trust that it's all for something. When I was laid off from my job, it was a shocking, scary, and bad timing from my perspective. However, it allowed me the time, focus and creative energy to develop a business focused on what I'm really passionate about...empowering women and creating balance of mind/body and spirit. And from there, my Happy, Healthy and Hot course was born.
I needed to learn those lessons to be at this place in my life to create this year. Consider that what ever you needed to learn and experience has got you to here...to this moment. So now what? Well...what do you want to create?
Creating the new year
You are the architect of your life...so what kind of life do you want to design? And who do you need to be to have that life? Imagine, envision, dream, wonder, write. Ask yourself, what makes me happy? What brings me joy? What am I passionate about? What am I committed to? What's important to me. Where do I want to contribute?
Then look at the actions and steps you need to take to have that life. If you discover that you are committed to healthy living, and you currently binge on ice cream every night, then you may want to look at changing your diet or incorporating some sort of exercise to your daily life. And it's your life, so design something that you are inspired by and will stick with. And if it's not working...guess what...you can try something else. Play with it. Never mind what works for your neighbor or co-worker...what works for you?
It takes approximately 21 days to have something become a habit and I would give yourself 90 days to be reliable to have that habit be ingrained in your brain as a practice. Meaning, be as much of a part of your routine as brushing your teeth or making your bed.
And...
Tell others
It's important to write things out as you are creating and it's as equally important to declare what you have created to others. They can support you, hold you accountable and perhaps even be inspired to join you in that dream you have to plant a community garden in your neighborhood. Your are also more reliable to stick with your plan when you have a community around you, particularly if that group of people is organized around a common goal like health, or contributing to their neighborhood.
To recap:
1. Complete the last year.
2. Create the new year.
3. Open your mouth and declare.
4. Organize a support structure to fulfill on what you have created and take the actions to get you there.
And finally...
5. Be willing to be surprised.
You have no idea where the road will lead you, just trust that it will take you where you desire to go.
As for me..
After doing my own completing and creating exercise for the year, I'm declaring that 2012 is about being of service through love, partnership, collaboration and wonderment and being the source of miracles.
Be bold, live out loud and have 2012 be your best year yet. Have this be the year that you risked big, loved large and were fully alive.
If those doomsday theorists are correct, the world ends this year, so why not go out with a bang? And it they aren't well then, you've stopped listening to your own BS and created a happy and fulfilling life. It's a win-win either way. Congratulations!
Have a Happy, Healthy and Hot 2012!
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