My Thinking Planning Mind

I’m like most people when it comes to the New Year…compelled to think about resolutions, changes I want to make. Since I am a whole year wiser than the last time I thought about New Year Resolutions, I wanted to go about this exercise with thoughtfulness and care, and take this opportunity to realign my daily ways to be closer to the aspirations and expectations I have for my life.

I’ve been mulling this over for the past week or so, thinking about my goals and dreams and what actions I can take this year to move closer to them. What I came to is that I want to set intentions rather than resolutions.  The difference being more than semantic, I want my New Years “realignment” to reach deeper than the size of my jeans.

I’m setting my intention on this:

Focus on the wellness of my body, mind and spirit. Rather than saying, “I will go to the gym 7 days a week” or “I will meditate for 30 minutes every day,” I intend to simply (or not so simply as I’m sure it will be in practice) pay attention to the whole of me, listen closely, and give myself what it needs. That certainly includes regular exercise to keep my body healthy, and it also includes challenging my mind with creative projects and interesting books, and nurturing my spiritual self with a consistent practice of prayer, meditation, or some kind of activity that rejuvenates my soul. Oh, and it also means that I will lovingly hush the inner critic who throws up doubts and fans the flames of my fears and anxieties…and that I will forgive myself when I go off track.

So I’ve already hinted at some of the things I will “do” in order to “be” my best self – exercise, creativity, prayer. And here are a few other intentions that are going to help me be well…

• Align my spending with my values. Be alert to my cravings and desires, and think carefully before buying things that don’t contribute to the wellness of myself, my family or the world. This includes purchasing needless “stuff,” needed “stuff” that comes in excessive, wasteful packaging, and food that goes bad in the fridge because we didn’t eat it in time (likely tied to a decision to eat out or bring home pizza).
• Be of service. Place myself in a position of giving as often or more often than I am in a position of receiving. This doesn’t necessarily translate into the obvious response of donating money or volunteering time. It means that I wish to go about my daily life with an open, giving heart, approaching life with an attitude of generosity, rather than a sense of selfishness.
• Listen and be present. Once the intentions are set, the plans are made, the dinner is in the oven, let it go and pay attention to what is happening right here and now. Allow my son, my husband, my parents, colleagues, friends, etc. to have my attention. Shush the thinking planning mind that is constantly grasping, wanting, and processing for the future, so I can experience the present moment.

The beauty of setting my intention toward wellness, and acknowledging from the start that I will forgive myself my mistakes, is that I can’t really fail. Paying attention to the unfolding of each day will be enough.