Fresh Start 2011!

Every year after the languor of the Christmas season, I feel motivated to set inspiring and purposeful goals for myself for the New Year. My list usually covers the gamut of physical, intellectual, spiritual, career, personal and financial goals and I can usually happily fill each sub-category with at least two or three action items. Whether I follow through on all of them is another issue, but writing them down helps me to focus and get clarity. You see, my struggle is with what to focus on, as I am a typical Gemini with a restless spirit and multiple interests including writing, photography, fitness, nutrition and cooking among others. My husband Jamie’s pet name for me is “31 flavours”, ie: Baskin & Robbins! “What’s the flavour of the month?” he chides!

Jamie on the other hand is like a vanilla ice cream, but a good Hagan Daz, French vanilla ice cream, pure and simple, not seeking a lot of variety and change. When asked what his New Year’s resolutions are, he answers, “nothing, I’m good!” When I asked Jamie’s father the same question at Christmas dinner, he said the same, “I’m good!” I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! I started thinking about their answers, first critically...who doesn’t have at least one thing they’d like to improve upon...and then enviously...am I missing the key to happiness? Perhaps, I put too much pressure on myself to change and grow. Perhaps, the secret to happiness is just as Mitch Albom suggests in Have a Little Faith, ‘being content and grateful for what you have.’

According to Eckhart Tolle in The New Earth, the need for change or wanting more can be an addictive need, not an authentic one. Instead of enjoying the present moment, people constantly seeking change may feel a sense of unease, restlessness, boredom, anxiety, and dissatisfaction. This is the ego at work not our authentic selves.

Whether you’re a restless spirit or contented with life, the New Year serves to remind us to be grateful for all that we have and to reflect on our priorities in order to be our very best selves! The year 2011 holds special significance as the number eleven represents both renewal and balance, renewal meaning a fresh start and/or new beginnings and balance being equilibrium of work/play, feminine/masculine, and emotion, thought and spirit.

What does 2011 mean for you? Does it mean starting a diet and probably falling off the wagon in a few short weeks like every other time you’ve tried? Or does it mean starting a new exercise program-but this time you're going to stick to it, really!? If that sounds like your track record, why not rephrase your goals to sound more like, "I want to feel more energized, fit, and healthier". Or maybe in keeping with the significance of the number eleven, you simply want to find more balance in your life.

Maybe then instead of a new year's resolution, you can make a choice for just today that brings you closer to being your best. Life is a series of everyday choices- so today it may mean waking up and fitting in a yoga class before work instead of hitting the snooze button. It may mean a commitment to planning your meals for the week on Sunday. It may mean making a promise to yourself to work a little less and start to take control of your stress. You are a summation of all your conscious and unconscious choices in life. Know that you can make little choices for the better every day that add up to the best you can be. It's up to you really!

Get in touch with your authentic self and only seek change that is healthy, achievable and helps you to be your best as opposed to setting lofty goals

and/or seeking change for the sake of change. For me, that means being a little less serious about goal setting. I’m not sure I’m ready to settle for just the vanilla ice cream yet, but perhaps just butterscotch, chocolate and heavenly hash, instead of all 31 flavours!