Time to take stock, re-evaluate and shift gears.
One of the best things about starting off with a new year is starting off with a new resolve and making new lists. Whatever it is about last year you can forget about since it is gone, gone, gone!
I had the pleasure this morning of reading two exceptional postings from artists who both have noteworthy approaches to the new year.
From Robert Redus (Noise From The High Desert), he writes:
Reflecting back on 2012, it was pretty certain with few exceptions….I don’t want to sound like I wear nothing but brown clothes everyday of the year. Exceptional things only happen if 1.) You decide to make exceptional things a part of your life. or 2.)You hand the wheel to someone else and end up where they are going, doing what they are doing and hope that 10-50 is not in the equation. My year was exceptional for what exceptional initiatives I put forward . Most of us would rather watch the alligator wrestling than be wrestling with the gator.
I refined my bucket list this year, and after entering a pie eating contest (#3 on the list) in Pietown New Mexico, coming in 15th place, I realized that writing down what I want to do then checking it off is much like the 2 years…that’s right 2 years we spend sitting at traffic lights throughout our lives…..So no more bucket list….1-100….just sort of adopted the attitude that I should do what inspires me…take this exceptional life and…live it exceptionally….
So with the new year creeping up on us like a new pair of briefs…we have the what am I going to do with myself reflection asking us…”So what are you going to do with yourself”…I suggest you answer…”Absolutely Nothing”….as planning the fiery car wreck in advance, takes all of the suspense and intrigue out of all of the possibilities.
My New Year’s Resolutions are….none, sure I sat at breakfast with Sue this morning thinking about what I want to do, when in reality I should be resolving not to repeat what I didn’t want to do last year….so yes, my resolution is exactly that….hands in the air, resolving not to repeat any part of last year but the good stuff….and then I have to decide if repetition of the good stuff is really worth the effort. read more...
And, from Lynette Shepard, guest blogger on 'Celebrate What's Right With The World', she and her husband, Dewitt Jones come up with the "Ta Da" and not "To Do" approach:
New Year’s resolutions can be a setup for judgment, stress, and failure. While the “clean slate” of January 1 can certainly inspire us to set goals and intentions, it can also overburden us with expectation.
I used to approach my list of resolutions for each year with equal parts excitement and aversion. I fretted about what I had not accomplished the previous year, which added stress rather than reducing it. I eventually switched my list of resolutions to a list of intentions. This kinder, gentler list has put me more at ease. Still, I felt I was missing something.
Then, some years ago, Dewitt and I added a new list for December 31st. We wrote “done” lists - lists of what we had already “done” in the year just past. We started with accomplishments, travels, and completed goals.
We made our separate lists; then sat down and reviewed them together, frequently remembering and adding others. Great conversations about our lives and feelings resulted.
It wasn’t long before the list morphed - into what Dewitt aptly named the “ta da” list. It wasn’t just milestones and accomplishments we were re-viewing. Insights, new knowledge, and self-revelations made the list. Life moments that we experienced throughout the year. read more...
So, take note of the exceptional things you've done in 2012. Repeat. Add more exceptional things. Don't dwell on what you didn't get around to do. As Robert says, "take this exceptional life and live it exceptionally".
You know, it doesn't get any better than that.
Happy New Year, everyone!
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