Resolutions? Bah humbug!

Mortimer (the squirrel) just chillin'

I recently prepared a short webinar program that I'll be presenting this month entitled, "New Year, New You!" But contrary to what most people will think when they see that title, I'm not talking about making yet another irritating, annoying, hard-to-accomplish resolution :-).

What I'm talking about is deciding now, in January, how you are going to have a better year than last year. Again - some will have to rethink the words, "better year" since I'm not talking about money or even physical health...although I will be thrilled for you if both of those areas of your life are better in 2014 than 2013!

What I'm really talking about, though, is something deep within all of us - a need to feel good about how we're moving through life. After all, life is moving pretty fast, isn't it? Wouldn't it be a good idea to reflect on how you are moving along with it?

So what does that mean to you..."feeling good about how you're moving through life?" Well, here are a few things for you to ponder as we begin this brand new opportunity to move through life in a way that makes us feel good.

• What makes you grateful? 
• What makes you sigh with contentment? 
• What makes you laugh out loud? 
• What makes you feel fulfilled? 
• What makes you feel like you GREW as a person?
• What might you do that will make you feel proud that you tried it?
• How can you make others feel good about how they're moving through YOUR life?
• What might you try to make sure your routines aren't becoming ruts? 
• How can you help your community?
• What do you enjoy learning - and how can you do more of it?

I've been surprised to see several articles in magazines and in ezines in the past couple of weeks that have alluded to the same idea...forget the, "I'm gonna lose an unrealistic percentage of my body weight" or "THIS year, I'll make a million dollars!" or even more ridiculous..."This is the year I'll become a neurosurgeon" [just kidding ;-) - I don't think you'd want me as your neurosurgeon!] You get the idea - apparently, many of us are re-thinking the wisdom of putting ourselves on a guilt trip for resolutions unmet at the end of the year - or the end of January. 

Let's make sure this year we're focusing on making life better - not putting pressure on ourselves to make drastic changes that may very well never come to pass and will only leaving us feeling like we've failed.

A disclaimer here, though...if you really DO want to lose weight (or make a million dollars!), just go easy - don't decide you'll lose 10 pounds a week by eating only 4-leaf clovers, or that you'll spend each paycheck playing the lottery to make that million. Take small, DOABLE baby steps that will move you forward. Even if you don't reach your ultimate goal, you will be closer to that goal - and that's a great way to move through life, wouldn't you agree?

Drop me a note and let me know how it's going - I love to hear from my readers!

Blessings,
Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com
Linda@LindasWorkshops.com

R-E-L-I-E-F!!

Relief! That's what I felt Sunday, April 14, as I walked across the stage at University Auditorium at the University of Florida in Gainesville to receive my Master of Business Administration degree (MBA). People kept saying, "Are you excited??" And of course, I was excited - but what I felt down to my very bones was relief :-)

The funky, not-very-pretty picture in this post is a calendar I made for myself last September when I really started doubting whether or not I could actually complete the program. I needed a way to "see the light at the end of the tunnel" before I could actually see that light. Every Monday morning, I took great pleasure in crossing off another week - you'll notice the lines of my "exes" were getting thicker as the weeks wore on...and on and on and on!

But it's over. And it made me think about how many things can drain our energy, our attention, even our fun and how relieved we are when we get "through" those things. Sometimes it's a financial hardship. Sometimes it's a health crisis...or a job situation...or a relationship problem...or a HUGE project that seems it will never end.

Whatever the tunnel is that you're going through, allow yourself to really feel the relief when you finally get to the other side. So many times we just jump right into another tunnel, but have you ever seen one of those tunnels through the mountains? Even when it's a pretty wide mountain, the engineers usually found a way to provide "light" between tunnels - a space where you could sort of get your bearings again before entering another tunnel.

That's what we all need to make sure we do between "tunnels" in our lives - take some time to get our bearings - to reflect on how we grew because of our trip through that tunnel. And take a deep breath before we immediately jump into another.

I know that "life" happens and we can't always control the speed at which we arrive at the next tunnel. Maybe we don't get that short break where we can see the light. Maybe those are the times we have to make our own "light" and focus on the good. That may be a flower, a sunny sky, a furry friend nearby, or even the dime you found in the parking lot!

Focusing on the small "shafts of light" that come our way can also remind us to really feel the relief when the tunnel finally comes to an end.

Drop me a note and let me know what your tunnel is right now...are you approaching the end? Can you see some rays of light filtering through?

Blessings,

Linda

www.LindasWorkshops.com

Linda@LindasWorkshops.com