In previous years, like many others, I've always resolved to do a list of things to better myself in the new year. These things ranged from losing weight to being more patient and getting to the gym more often. Though I start out strong initiating the well thought out New Year's resolutions, often within weeks I find myself breaking them. I am not alone since most people give up on their New Year's resolutions within a month's time. Like trying to break a bad habit, resolutions are hard to keep because they involve change.
Change is never easy.
Ideally, what we all strive for most in life is happiness, good health, and love. Life will continue to have its highs and lows. The older I get the more I recognize the value of getting through the sadness in order to rejoice in the happiness. I have found that stepping back allows me, at times, to foresee what lies ahead. I consider this a means of taking a cloth and shining the crystal ball to my future. In doing so, perhaps I will have a better chance of knowing what to expect and will make fewer rash decisions as a result.
Gaining a proper balance of both mind and body provides clarity and strength to achieve set goals. Unfortunately, it has become more challenging because daily distractions -- social media, and various schedules befitting a staff of well-trained assistants to address -- overload our brains.
Here are seven things I'm not taking into the new year. By letting go of these things, I'll achieve a sharper brain, healthier body, and brighter soul.
1. I'm not taking for granted the things and people who give me joy. I'm grateful for those who give me hugs and the things that give me pleasure. These are my forever friends, the ones I have strong ties to because they accept me as I do them and at the core of our friendship is love and compassion. Lighting up my life are my family and loved ones. My dogs sense the depths of my emotions and merely have to wag a tail or offer a paw to provide me with hope. I'll also strengthen my physical being with walks, bicycle rides, racquetball, and Pilates classes along with my spirit lifting passions of writing and reading.
2. I'm not only taking my dreams just to bed. In the new year I'll do some daydreaming, the kind that lightens my heart and eases my mind.
3. I'm not taking any clutter from my virtual world. I've cleaned up my emails and computer files. I'll also continuously eliminate clutter from my actual living space. Continuously is key because like in the virtual world, the clutter often builds on a daily basis.
4. I'm not going places simply to upload photos to Facebook. I'll go places to experience new things and make memories. If those memories should appear a year or five years later as a reminder on Facebook, that's fine, too.
5. I'm not taking the opinions of others against my own intuition. A gut instinct is like a beacon of light cast on a less precarious path. I will pay close attention to my intuition to avoid stumbling.
6. I'm not going to strive to do better. Instead I'll do my best.
7. I'm not going to hold on so tightly. Especially, if letting go grants those I love the wings to fly and do #6.