There is always a big hullabaloo about starting fresh for the New Year-- as though somehow resetting our clocks and changing out our wall calendars is the same as resetting our daily routine and throwing out all our bad habits. That hypnotic count down from ten to zero, and the huge wave of noise and happy celebration are like the snap of a therapist's fingers to bring us back to reality, fully healed from what came before. Rubbish.
As my friend can tell you (Link to that Entry), what really matters is not eating anything that scratches backwards, and only doing what you WANT to do ALL YEAR on the day that sets the pace for it. Resolutions Shnezolutions!
I can remember sitting and thinking about my habits and my life each December, knowing that everyone was going to ask me what my resolutions were for the new year... and trying hella hard to come up with something good. I don't smoke, I don't drink, and I eat healthy 75% of the time. What else do people quit or start cold-turkey at New Years? (Seriously- if you've got a good one, I want to hear about it.)
This year, I was flipping through the January Oprah magazine (released in early December) as I stood in line with over $75 worth of groceries to get me through the last three days before I go visit my family for Christmas. I figured I needed all the comfort food I could get. Anyway, I had just started to worry about coming up with a good resolution to tell everyone about for New Years. (Notice I didn't say I was actually planning to DO it.) The cover says "Be the woman you want to be! Why it's so hard to change yourself-- a revolutionary guide to making it happen." Hey-Presto! I'll bet there are some GREAT resolution ideas in there! How naive.
There it was, on page 57. "Self-Transformation 101" Two simple steps.
Oprah changed my life.
Okay, well, so I actually snort with laughter at the absurdity of that overstated claim. And I'm not actually planning to change my life forever at the moment the ball touches down on December 31st. But those two simple ideas, and the two steps accompanying them did make me think about my life in a different way-- about all the things I've discovered that I WANT in my life, but haven't actually been able to include on a regular basis. This year, I'm not making grand resolutions. I'm making personal awarenesses, and accessing the resources to follow through on them. There is a whopping difference between the two approaches.
What follows is called a teaser.
The first question you've got to ask yourself is this: "Do I know why I want to make this change?" For the rest of this awesome two-step process, I suggest you get your own copy of Oprah's Magazine for January 2007. Check out page 57, and if you really want to think deep-- I just turned that page, and discovered two more steps to the process. Oops. I'm not sure I'll read them, though. Steps one and two have already got me going in a good direction. Not bad for two weeks to New Years!
If you're curious about my own plans, here are the steps I plan to take first:
-Get a recording of the song in Legally Blonde that gets my
"I am going to MAKE it, and make it GOOD!" going.
-Get a light-brightening alarm and set it for 5:15am.
-Set regular radio alarm for 6am.
-Set second regular radio alarm for 8pm. (no, this is not to help me wake up)
I'll let you know how it goes.
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