Taint Misbehavin'
Life Hacks for the Re-Solution Time
It’s the taint of the year.
I could stop there but let me try to be a little more helpful.
You have three choices.
Try to catch up.
(Except there is no try/and there is no catching up).
Turn into a couch.
The coziest/laziest maybe perfect for you right now choice.
Or take advantage of the very special
Once in a year opportunity
Of making resolutions for next year!
But obviously the classic New Year’s resolution thing
Totally sucks.
It’s so reductionist.
And the whole vibe of it
Makes you feel like you’re setting yourself up for failure.
It feels problem oriented.
You had a problem, you tried to solve it, you failed.
And now you are looking for a re-solution.
But the lure of resolutions is so strong.
We yearn to Live Our Best Lives Oprah Told Us We Could!!!!
But also… you/we/I are/am naturally creative.
We want to grow.
There’s a good reason stuck rhymes with yuck.
Plus why do our machines get to have a reset button if we don’t?
We don’t want to be jealous of our machines, right?
Eating cookies doesn’t cut it.
Neither do cookie cutter solutions.
So we persist.
But there are better ways
Than the usual bland, ineffective
Why-did-you-even-bother stale New Year’s Resolutions.
And here are my 10 suggestions. #lifehacks
I invite you to change up
How you take advantage of this once a year opportunity!
Don’t try to whittle it down to the one thing. Your top ten? 23 for 23? Use your age. 18 is lucky for Jews. 108 is sacred for many and mathematically profound. Get creative in creating your year.
Pick a word of the year instead. Make it one that excites and scares you. Turn it into an anagram if you want. Make a painting of it.
Do a triangle. One thing for you body, one for your mind, one for your spirit.
Pick a question of the year. Who am I now? How can I most be of service? Where do I shine? What’s your real question?
Decide one thing (or more!) to leave behind. Write it down. Maybe even write about it. Allow that thing to be a person or people. Light a candle and burn what you have written — you are so done with it.
Choose a goal. A goal is slightly different than a resolution. A re-solution is something you want to change. A goal is something you want to aim for. Once you choose the goal you may actually understand the things you need to change in order to accomplish it. Or what steps to take.
Use a four quandrant chart. Home. Health. Heart. Happens. Happens? I couldn’t think of an H word that meant work. And I like H for this. Because it feels square and quadrantesque. And in fact I like Happens for a work word. What you are going to make happen. Happiness is a lot about what happens. Inside and out.
Write a manifesto/a. Be grand!
Draw a map of where you are going to go. Maybe geograpically real places. Maybe pychographically real. Paris? Every club you can book? The Wilderness? The reading chair? The place of Infinite Peace?
Forget words. Do a vision board. What color do you want your year to feel like? Do you feel lacy? Like you want to be around people more? I used to make fun of vision boards and then had some very surprising and delightful outcomes.
PS. List all the things you changed this year. Every little thing you accomplished. Look at ones that you planned to do and did. Somethings you never planned on. The things that were surprises. Give yourself stars and trophies.
PPS Allow yourself to be honest. I have so much to say about that. But let’s save that for later. Because right now it’s time. Go do it… xx b
PPPS
Let me know how it goes! HNY xxx
I hate when mah TAINT Misbehaves. Meanwhile, its Good 2 C U R still droppin da heat.