I love this time of year. There’s a buzz in the air that makes most of us feel like positive change is right around the corner, and more accessible than most other times of year.
I’m not a fan of resolutions, but I am a big believer in using this collective excitement to jump start our year into motion. I would love to share a couple of practices that can help you make your life better this year.
Create a Word – Take some time to reflect on the single greatest change you’d like to make this year. Now try and narrow that down into one word or phrase that you can use as your daily reminder. This word will become a filter through which you experience your life, make decisions, etc. The idea is that if you bring this level of mindfulness to your daily life, you stand to make significant changes from very little effort. Be sure to write your word down on a card, put it in your phone, etc. It’s not the exercise of creating the word that will change your life, but remembering to use it.
Ask for Help – One of the greatest things each of us can do to make our lives better is work on the things that make us difficult or hard to get along with. One approach to setting a New Year’s goal is to ask those close to you what THEY think you can work on this year. Wouldn’t it be great to end 2015 as not only a person you’re happy with, but also a person others enjoy being around as well.
The key to success is not having good intentions, but putting action behind them. Whatever your goals this year, be sure to give yourself the chance to succeed by creating space in your life to focus on these pursuits. Taking space for silence and stillness each day is critical to making change happen.