Lose weight.
Exercise more – hell – start exercising.
Quit smoking.
Start walking.
Read more.
Watch less TV.
Eat better. Eat less. Eat mindfully, or not at all.
Go to the gym or at least sign up at a gym, go to meet a friend and drink coffee by the elliptical machine.
Cut up credit cards.
Get more sleep.
What are you fixing?
What do you want to change?
What needs to be eliminated?
What ought to be included?
Where do you begin?
In the plant world, new growth is supported by existing growth. The old growth may be trimmed or pruned to make room for the new, but the old is still necessary.
New growth is fed by what comes before.
Acknowledge what you have done well.
Appreciate what is already good.
Focus on the steps you’ve taken so far.
Build slowly to create lasting, healthy change.
Add on to the strong foundation you’ve built up to this point.
Keep what is working, prune what doesn’t benefit you, and allow space for new growth.
There’s no need to start from scratch. There’s no need to beat yourself up for missteps.
Stop psyching yourself out about the first day of January. Quit letting the calendar make you feel bad about yourself.
Don’t turn healthy changes into a big issue.
Incorporate change in small, steady ways – each day. If today isn’t the day to go to the gym, let that be okay.
Take the pressure off of yourself.
Tonight, after brushing your teeth and reading a couple pages in that self-help book, revisit your day. Think of the things that have gone well. Think of what you might do differently tomorrow.
It’s okay.
Keep trying.
Go slow.
Be kind to yourself.
This isn’t a race.
You’ll get there.
New growth takes time.
Tags: a girl can dream, cuz I am Woman, in search of self, life
Jesse,
This is exactly what I needed to read today. Thank you so much!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and yours!!
Warm wishes,
Lynn
Lynn,
I’m posting your comment amidst a storm of kazoos – kids are with their cousins. Either we’re making memories or reminders. ;)
Happy New Year, dear.
Wishing you and yours all the best.
Jesse
I needed that, too. It does take time and that’s OK. I have to remind myself that joy is in the journey, and not at the end of the road.
Happy New Year:)
NM
Jesse,
I love it!! It sounds like great fun! I am taking a deep breath in and being thankful for the peace in our home this New Year.
Have fun with Jen and Will. I wish all of you more joy than your cups can hold in 2013.
Warm wishes,
Lynn
NM,
I know what you mean… I remind myself and kids on an almost daily basis… to enjoy the process.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
It is a daily battle for me, to not say “when there’s more money, when I lose 10lb., when I am doing better in my field, then I’ll be happy!” It really is the moments along the way. :)
NM,
I wonder why we always think things will be better when something else happens. Things will be nicer if this happens. I wonder where that comes from.
Maybe the same compulsion that causes us to want to “fix” nutty people? ;) Hope you are doing great, Jesse.
hugs, NM
NM,
That’s funny! :o)
You could be right on that one.
We are well. Two weeks away clears the head, makes us figure out what’s important and makes us appreciate the good parts of what we’ve got.
Hope you and yours are doing well, too.
Jesse,
I’m so glad to have read this! Where does the compulsion come from, you asked. I went a little berzerk this new years because my urge to ‘fix’ myself came up and I got lost in it briefly. I came back to my senses and gave up diet soda. That has turned out to be enough.
I think the urge to ‘fix’ comes from shame and having received the message that we are not enough in the eyes of the N in our lives and also the belief that being a spotless little plant will protect us from insults or injuries. I am not taking up too much space, see? I am not ruining your perfect garden, see? I am not making a mess or costing you money or embarrassing you or needing anything or outshining you and you’re still the fairest of them all.
The challenge is getting to the place where being balanced doesn’t take so much effort and energy…to not have to think so hard about Be-ing.
Oddly enough, I’m listening to the movie Groundhog Day while I write this… ! :)
E,
Your comment hit home.
It is not easy to live life in such a way as to NOT be an inconvenience. I still question every thought and action and wonder if I am imposing in some way.
And some days, I just want to impose the hell out of everyone! Just to get it out of my system. ;)
Thanks for re-connecting here.