No, the title isn’t a typo. It is the beginning of a suggestion for setting up 2010. Some people do resolutions, other don’t. Many resolutions are the same ones made year after year: lose weight, get in shape, remember friends’ birthdays, visit my mother more often, be on time, go back to school, get a new job, get a promotion, graduate, get a new car, get a new spouse. The list is endless, and exhausting. I used to make resolutions, shared them with people, wanted to know what their resolutions were, we’d talk and compare, make deals, and inevitably, I’d self-sabatage my efforts. I felt I had to make a resolution for something I was normally unmotivated to do. Was there some magic available on December 31/January 1, that would encourage me to do what I couldn’t find a drive to do the previous year(s)? And then when I fell off the wagon, created imaginative excuses, and otherwise dumped my resolutions, I’d say, “See? It doesn’t work,” and then continue to feel guilty with the judgements and self-criticism that I’m less of a human being because I didn’t achieve my New Year’s resolution.
That was before I quit doing resolutions, and certainly before I became a student of yoga, where there are no judgements/criticisms in the practice of ahimsa. For those of you who are devotees of The Secret and know all about the Law of Attraction (am I creating a social faux pax here by using a burned out buzz word?), my suggestion in this post could help you out. If you’re an entrepreneur, you may have heard of doing this to set “business goals”. Perhaps you’re looking for a fresh idea to get your creative juices flowing, whether they be for painting, composing music, or writing. If you made resolutions, great! I wish you the best of luck. If you didn’t, great! I’m right there with you. However, what I did decide to try, is the following:
Close your eyes. Picture where you will be on December 31, 2010, at about ten minutes to midnight. You’re ready to ring in the New Year, you have that special someone all picked out that will be fortunate enough to receive your New Year’s kiss, and you’re grinning from ear to ear because 2010 was the best in recent memory. Maybe it was a deeply personal year. If you’re single, maybe you’re wearing a 3 carat diamond on the ring finger of your left hand. Or your bank account has six digits . . . all on the left side of the decimal point, all black. You graduated with your degree, were offered, and accepted, your dream job. You bought a house on the West Coast where you can walk your dog on your private beach. It could even be that 2010 was a global year. Perhaps governments called a halt to all wars (come on! use your imagination here!). The environment made a stunning come back, a new alternative fuel was discovered that everyone could afford and use without costly transitions to current engines. Gang warfare was at an all-time low, drug cartels went bankrupt, suicides were nonexistent, a new program actually rehabilitated prisoners . . . I could go on, and on, but I think you get the picture. So, here is where you unleash your creativity.
In the ten minutes before the ball drops in Time’s Square and we all start to sing John Lennon’s, “Imagine”, do a quick review of the year 2010. What happened? What didn’t happen? Who did you see? Who did you help? Who helped you? What was started? What was stopped? What changed? What stayed the same? By writing it down in the PAST TENSE, you’re helping to create it. The more details, the better. Names, faces, dates . . . I bet you might even come up with details as to how the whole thing came to fruition (or remained stagnant). Record the key people, the supplies and equipment, and, most importantly, the feelings and emotions surrounding the event (or non event).
The more you return to your “picture” throughout the year, the better the opportunity that it will be a self-fulfilling prophesy. Perhaps ideas will arise on how to actually instigate social change, and that in itself could propel you throughout 2010. Or, the picture of you in a string bikini on a beach in the South of France will be the motivation necessary to get you to the gym at 5 AM six days a week, and to leave off the six-pack during Happy Hours on Friday. If writing isn’t your thing, draw what you picture in your mind, compose a song, swirl colors on a canvas that depicts how things turn out. What do you have to lose? Try it, and let me know how it works for you.
Mine goes something like: “My fingers are interlaced with those of the most incredible man . . . and as I close my eyes, I remember the elation of signing my 10,000 book to a new fan . . . I’m grateful for the marketing firm that believed in my books and my messages . . . how fortuitous that we were able to close escrow on time at the property with a barn and turnout area . . . even though Stephanie’s sons are both Marines, they’ll finish their tour stateside . . . I remember the party where we all celebrated the influx of money to public education where teachers would get paid what they are worth . . .”
Occasionally I’m able to fit what I have to say into 140 characters. Check out my posts on Twitter and my Author’s page on Facebook. If you’d like to view more of what I’ve written, visit my web site. It’s free!! www.myjoyenterprises.com
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