Simplify Your Thinking this New Year!

So it’s the New Year. What are you thinking? Hmmm, about all the things you want to do this New Year or about all the things you want to quit doing this year? My ten year old daughter told me tonight that she wants to use up all the paints that Santa left with her new paint set under the tree this year. Believe me, that’s going to be a challenge since it was one of those paint sets that contain every possible color under the sun. I look forward to all the master pieces she’ll be creating while trying to accomplish her New Year’s resolution. Her resolution made me think about how we should simplify our thinking when it comes to handling our New Year resolutions for 2008.

I think that many of us get stuck thinking of what we “must stop” doing this year and we also get stuck thinking of how we “must start” doing something that we really don’t want to do. Both of these statements being said with a heavy sigh of content! “I’ve got to get up an hour earlier every morning so that I can exercise this year. I hate getting up early!” Sigh, Sigh, Sigh! It’s like we make it (in our minds) a really difficult and unpleasant thing to do which immediately trumps any of the benefits for getting up early a few times a week in order to make exercise happen this year. Inside your brain cells you are already setting yourself up for failure and that is no way to start your year off with those good intentions.

I saw a top ten list of New Year resolutions for 2008. Which includes; spending more time with friends and family, getting fit, losing weight, quitting smoking, enjoying life more, drinking less alcohol, getting out of debt, learning something new, helping others and getting organized. Guess what, this list is almost identical to last year’s list and to the list for the year before that! We must agree that one or more of the top ten list items is on all of our lists this resolution season. We’re all in this together, this year and every year from now on.

So, I want to make a proposition to you this year regarding your thoughts about resolutions. Let’s think simple, like the way our kids think. We don’t need to dwell on those ten pounds we want to lose, instead think of how I can take a walk almost every day. Don’t think about your diet and what you can’t eat, instead think about all the food items that you can eat! Don’t think about all the things you won’t get done on a daily schedule that’s crazy, instead think about what you’ll do when you get home in the evening for yourself. You see where I’m going? My daughter never once thought of the time, mess, the impossibility that she’ll ever use up all those paints. She just thought how awesome it’d be to paint as much as she can this year! Simple! Positive! Awesome! There’s no chance she’ll fail at her resolution.

So with your resolutions this year I want you to change those brain cells into thinking how you can make things happen! Not how to avoid or how to stop making things happen. I’m a believer that when you put energy out into the world, the world gives you back equal and/or more powerful energy. You’ve heard it said before, negative attracts negative and positive attracts positive. Therefore, you must think and do the things that are important to you this year with that positive energy and they’ll happen.

You want to lose ten pounds? Then, Yes! Let’s lose ten pounds! You want to read more books this year? Then, Yes! You’ll find 20 minutes to read every day! You want to get more organized? Then, Yes! Let’s get organized and stay organized! You want to exercise every day? Then, Yes! You’ll exercise every day! You want to paint every day? Then, Yes! Let’s paint every day!

Happy New Year Everyone! Yes! It’s going to be a great one!

 

Deborah Holmes

January 1, 2008