I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the years’
-Henry Moore
As I get older, time seems to move more quickly with every passing year. I am convinced that the passing of time these days is somehow directly proportionate to the rate at which my boys are gaining inches on me. I have to admit that I am not a fan of how rapidly the years are melting away, but I try to take it all in stride. I find myself expending a considerable amount of energy remembering to stay rooted in the present moment when I am feeling especially aware of the fast pace that life moves.
On any week there are many things to do on many different fronts. Work, finances, relationships or regular everyday grown up responsibilities fill the hours of the day and before you realize it the weeks pass into months and then the year has slipped away. I have had to resort to referring to my calendar to remind me of details when my recall is blurry.
For most, this time of the year is a time to reflect and resolve to make changes depending on what the past year has brought. I personally have never been a fan of the idea of New Year resolutions. I often overhear people discussing with family and friends their own resolutions as New Year’s approaches. My theory on this is that people are declaring their intent so that they will be accountable to actually follow through. In fact, many of my most successful wellness coach clients told me this directly. According to them, knowing that they had to meet with me to discuss their journey was a motivation to stay the path.
This was great on most weeks, but I believe that the majority of their growth happened in the weeks that did not exactly go as planned. I was there to gently remind them that there was more to be learned in those moments and that it was important to keep moving forward and that their truth was bigger than the number on the scale or the entries in their My Fitnesspal food log. In the grand scheme of things I was happy to be that for them as they made their journey to improving their health and life. Having support from others when trying to change something is a natural thing. Who does not love a cheering section?
As we all may have heard through the years, the standard top three resolutions usually have to do with improving health, wealth or relationships. Historically they are attempts to end a behavior that is negatively affecting an area in life or to increase a positive behavior that may be lacking. We all have our areas in our lives that feel like we will never quite gain victory over. Here is my own take on this. We cannot predict what may happen from one day to the next and as resolved as someone may be at the stroke of midnight January 1st, the reality is that none of us is immune to losing our resolve or experiencing the resulting feelings of failure that come when we bail on the goal.
We may begin with an attitude of hopefulness and when we discover that we are human, and not perfect, we can quickly turn into own worst enemies. This is the beginning of the dangerous downward spiral in our thinking that really messes up in between our ears. I can understand the logic behind wanting to do better or be better in certain areas of life from one year to the next, it is how we measure our personal growth. However, sometimes we forget that when we expect perfection we are forsaking our very nature.
When we resolve to change something we do and do not stick to it, we set ourselves up for confusing who we are with the things that we do. These two things are not the same. It is good to take stock and want to challenge ourselves to improve our health or whatever it may be. We have to realize that when we veer off course that it is not the end of the world. We must resist the temptation to beat ourselves up and squash our self-worth like a bug. No matter what we do or don’t do, the core of who we are remains the same. In choosing to hyper focus on one of the eight thousand things that are part and parcel to our flawed humanity, we forget all about the marvelousness of who we are.
Overlooking this, even for a minute, weakens our ability to create a more loving and peaceful world. I look at year’s end as a time to reflect on where I have been, who was there with me and how much laughter, love, peace and joy was present. Oh, and also how many successful closings were in the books at McBride Realty Group.
I also look forward to what may lie beyond the horizon for my amazing and talented wife, my awesome boys, and Yvette Waters Photography in 2014. I cannot predict the future but I do know that time will continue to zip along at break neck speed. I am determined to remain open to whatever possibilities or pruning God has for lined up for me and my family and continue to live one day at a time and to take the good with the bad and to be grateful for all of it. Peace and love for a healthy 2014!