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New Year’s resolutions you can keep
Resolutions often are thought of as a good way to start the new year, but be honest now — how many of them do you really keep?
How do you feel when you don’t measure up, and how many of these resolutions simply go by the wayside with a shrug and the thought. “Oh well, I’ll try again next year”?
Consider another approach.
Say to yourself, “I am going to set myself a New Year’s resolution and I am going to try to stick to it in a ‘good enough’ way.”
Be the best that you can be in your new endeavor — be it to exercise four times a week, eat less meat, be nicer to your neighbors, whatever it is — but consider it a ‘good enough’ task.
Good enough means that if one day or one week you forget or don’t feel like following through on the resolution, don’t beat yourself up. Instead of telling yourself, “OK, I blew my New Year’s resolution — I suck,” look at things another way.
Tell yourself. “OK, I blew my New Year’s resolution just for today, for this moment in time.”
Take a beat, look at why that might have happened. Sometimes we let ourselves down because we are reacting to some other loss that we have not acknowledged. Instead we might have taken our negative emotions out on someone in the community.
Perhaps you had a disagreement with your partner and criticized your neighbor instead of confronting your partner.
Know your triggers. Own them. Remind yourself that tomorrow is another day — and you can renew your commitment to your New Year’s resolution then.
Accept your shortcomings, acknowledge your strengths and vow to keep walking down the highway, even if you stumble and fall.
Being on the highway of wellness speaks of your courage.
Mental wellness is a journey of heroes and heroines.
Have yourself a Merry little Christmas …
This is the time of year so many of us enjoy and look forward to.
Instead of good cheer and relaxing times, though, many of us become very stressed and overwhelmed by the expectations of having the perfect Christmas or those greeting-card holidays.
What is important at this time of year is to remember to enjoy ourselves — to reconnect with loved ones, to take the time to have conversations and have fun. Things we may have forgotten to do during the year.
Remember, this season is about focusing on relationships: the quality time we can spend with one another; the sharing and the caring we can give to one another.
It is also a time for reflection, a time to take stock of our lives over the past year. As John Lennon wrote, “Another year over and what have we done.”
How do you fare in your assessment of the past year? What are you satisfied with? What would you like to improve?
Some tips for the holiday season:
- Take breaks throughout the week. Every hour do a little something that lifts your spirits. Make a cup of hot chocolate; listen to some holiday music.
- Buy a gift for a homeless child or adult and take it to a shelter.
- Try to notice when you become overwhelmed and take a beat. Say to yourself, “Do I really want to make myself upset over this situation? Or can I bring some compassion and patience to others and myself, and in turn reduce the stress I’m feeling in this moment.”
- Go for a walk in the park.
- Take a drive with your family and go and look at the Christmas decorations and lights around town.
- Stay up and watch a good Christmas movie such as “It’s a Wonderful Life” or a good classic such as “Gone With the Wind.”
- Try not to isolate, be around friends and relatives.
- Go to your local Christmas Eve midnight carol service or local temple or mosque where a sharing of peace and love is a central theme.
‘Tis the season to be jolly, so have yourself a merry little yuletide , a beautiful holiday and be ready for a good year ahead.
Feliz Navidad, Happy Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Happy Kwanza!
And as Tiny Tim Cratchit said in the classic “A Chistmas Carol”:
God bless us every one!
CDs to soothe the soul
My Relaxation Reverie CD collection offers meditation, guided-imagery and relaxation audio. My new website, Cozy Children, is the place for children's audio stories.
Here are three audio samples:
Fall Reverie
Magic Forest
Toy Store